Multiple Ultrasounds in First Trimester--Normal?

There are multiple reasons why she is having so many. If her doctor didn't say anything, I can't imagine that it is something bad. If she is older or if she has multiple babies in there, etc are reasons why they would do more. I had a TON of ultrasounds because of having twins. They must consider her high risk for some reason. Maybe it's something she wants to wait before telling anyone about or maybe the doctor hasn't said anything yet. I would ask the doctor flat out if I were her.

Hello Laury,
I have 4 children (3 are still in preschool) and that many ultrasounds early on sounds suspect to me. Is she in the high risk category for some reason? I know someone who is over 35, has had one miscarriage and is heavy set and she is twenty weeks and has had more than the standard amount already also. They should be asking the doctor why so many are needed. Hope it all works out.

I had many ultrasounds during my pregnancy, and many of them were during the first trimester. This was because my blood tests came back positive for spina bifida, and the doctors would do the ultrasounds to make sure that his spinal colums did not have any abnormalities. They did this well into the second trimester, but it was just a standard procedure for the hospital I was at when someone tested positive for a possible birth defect. He didn't have spina bifida, but he was premature, and I wonder after reading some of the other reponses if this was why. He barely weighted 4 pounds and when I took him home he had just regained his lost weight and had just gotten up to 4 pounds.

every dr. is different.
but i personally never heard of that many so early on.
could there be something they are not telling you?

hopefully it is the dr.s being precauatious!!
good luck!

Hello Laury,

I just had my son this past october, and in the beging i had like 4 ultra sounds, not only were they regular ones, i had to have a level 2 one after my orginial one, and that was scary and the reason being is that i had a bleed in the placenta, and so they were keeping an eye on it and the baby, only because if you are bleeding, that means that the baby isn't growing, but they really need to ask the OB/GYN about why she is getting them, it could be something very seriuos.

I agree, that sounds like too many, unless there is something they are keeping an eye on.

Your future sister-in-law should ask the doctor. There are good reasons out there.

I had probably 10 or more u/s with my second child, because he had a kidney defect. Maybe it was a dozen all together. He was 7 lbs 12 ounces at birth and he was induced at 36 weeks 6 days. I think they're gaining half a pound a week at that point.

My first thought is that possibly the doctor is being cautious and keeping an eye on something. In my experience, the doctors have thoroughly explained the reason behind any additional test. I wonder if your sister-in-law just feels like it's personal and doesn't want to talk about it at this point. Since she's not asking questions, it seems like she either can't be too concerned or she really does know what they are for. I'd say be supportive of her and offer to listen if she needs to talk or share. You could share your personal experiences of interactions with your doctor disclosing or your needing to ask additional questions to help support her in feeling able to also talk with hers about any concerns. Then I'd let it go and give her her privacy.

I'll probably have two in my first trimester...a dating ultrasound, and then the nuchal translucency test.

Then I'll ahve one at 18-20 weeks.

LAURY,

YOUR SISTER IN LAW MAY HAVE HAD FERTILITY TREATMENT, AND DOES NOT WANT ANY ONE TO KNOW. IT IS NOT ABNORMAL TO HAVE MULTIPLE ULTRASOUNDS IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER IF YOU ARE BEING TREATED BY A FERTILITY DOCTOR. JUST SPEAKING FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE.

CHRIS D.

That is an awful lot. They haven't been proven safe and should be restricted to only when necessary. More than 3 during the pregnancy has been linked with low birthweight.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/preScreen.html#Ultras... has tons of information on ultrasounds.

You should not worry as long as the doctor has not said anything, with my third, I had a total of 23 sonograms. Some doctors that have the ultrasound close at hand will do it to check and see how things are going. I actually like seeing how the baby was growing. I hope this info is helpful to you