Ultrasound Requires Follow up Ultrasound to Get More Pics of Heart

Hi H.! Congrats--it is so fun to have one of each:-) I went through the same with with my perfectly healthy baby girl (who is now five). Good luck to you!!

H....
Congrats on the baby boy! Boys are awesome! It is hard not to worry...but there really is no point in worrying before you know anything. If something needs adressing you will have LOTS of time then for worry. If it was me I would call the Dr.'s office and just leave a message saying you are trying not to worry and would love it if they could get back to you ASAP when they open on Monday. Maybe that will give you a little piece of mind knowing that you have done something and I am sure the powers that be in the office will hear your concern and try not to prolong your worried state and move things along if they can.

I know not worring is easier said than done but you gotta try...find something to take your mind off of it...Monday will be here before you know it:)

K.

Congratulations on the baby boy! We have three and they are so much fun.

The ultrasound pics aren't to much to worry about. With my 2nd and 3rd they wound up having more then 2 u/s because they were moving a ton and not cooperating. From my experience a lot of the techs will let you know when something seems a bit off, or if there is a slight concern. Otherwise they will ask you to come back to try again for the shots they need. Congratulations, again!

The reason that they want a picture of the heart is because that is one of the major organs. They want to be sure that it's OK for every pregnancy so they always get a picture of the heart. The tech may not have been sure if you needed to come back because other factors are a part of the decision. An obvious one might be that you wouldn't need to come back now if you have a high risk pregnancy and are getting several ultrasounds. They could catch it at the next one.

I don't know the statistics but I think that the number of babies with a heart defect is low. My grandson was born, full term, with a hole in his heart. The hole had closed 2 days later. Sometimes babies' organs finish developing after they are born. It is because of this that preemies survive.

Your baby is no doubt OK.

H.,

I wouldn't worry too much. With both my kids it seemed like they spent half the time looking at the heart too. My son is fine and is now almost 5 1/2. My daughter was born with a murmur that the ultrasound never caught. At first it was VSD, but that closed and now she has PDA, which is an abnormality in the top of her heart that does not affect her quality of life at all. We'll be going back to Children's Hospital this summer to re-evaluate her murmur and see if there's anything that needs fixing.

If you're really concerned try calling your doctor's office. The clinic I use has an after hours answering service, and they will page the on-call doctor if you request it. The on-call may not have all the answers, but should be able to give you at least a little peace of mind.

Hope this helps, and CONGRATS!!
Melissa

Hello H.,

They did the same thing to me regarding my daughter's head and possible fluid on the brain. I think they like to cover there basics to avoid a potential law suit. If they didn't make you come back and there was trouble that could have been fixed finding out early - you could potentially take them to court. Sit back , rub your belly and breathe.

Positively,
M.

Well, I have been there. And I can tell you that if they thought there was even a possibility that they thought something was wrong, they would have told you. We found our our daughter had a AV canal heart defect when I was 3 months pregnant. They couldn't get all the pictures and the radiologist came in personally. We were ther HOURS! It is normal to come back for a second ultrasound if the baby is in a position that they could not see everything they wanted. Trust me, I am POSITIVE, if they thought something could be wrong, you would know it. They would have told you - and you would not have left the hospital until they got the pictures that they wanted. Don't worry!
Feel free to email me with any other - or more specific - questions!

The same thing happened to me. I am pregnant and at our 18 week ultrasound they couldn't get a good view of the heart. We repeated the ultrasound last week at 24 weeks and everything was fine. I wouldn't worry to much. They just want to make sure everything is healthy on your baby boy!

I am sure it is nothing to worry about. The heart is such an important organ and it is so tiny at this stage. they just have to make sure to get the clearest shot of it and make sure there are no issues. the fact that your baby boy is so active is good. Ususally there is nothing to worry about, but I am sure you would feel more comfortable knowing they were able to check throughly. He sounds like he will be very active for you. Congrats and good luck with your boy.

Dear H.,
Congratulations on the baby boy. I had to go back when I was pregnant with my daughter because she was moving around way too much. They just want ta make sure everything is developing properly espically the heart since it is a major organ. I am sure that everyone else has said this samething- but try not to worry easier send then done I know. Call the office and leave a message voicing your concern and ask that they please call you back on Monday morning. I'm sure that haering your concern will prompt them to call you back. Congratulations again and goodluck.

Hi there! Congratulations on having a boy! I am currently expecting my second baby and had the same impression! They seemed to take a lot more pictures this time, but my husband, who was with me said that it was just because I could see what they were doing this time and that they took just as many pictures last time. The baby was hiding behind my belly button and so they couldn't get all the heart pictures either, so we had to go back. Because the heart is such an important organ, it is important to know if there are any problems and so they want to make sure they can see everything. I would be tremendously surprised if they actually found anything wrong. The techs are just required to get all the shots. Try not to worry!

Blessings,
A.

Yes, this is another reassuring post that the doctors just need to get a clear picture of the baby's heart to make sure all the chambers are functioning properly and developing as they should. Now is not the time to worry. It is very common for babies to move during ultrasounds, they have someone pushing down on them so they often turn away and make it difficult. At least they were able to find out the sex of your baby!

They have to make sure the baby has a healthy heart to be prepared for the delivery, a baby with a heart deffect can't usually be born vaginally, so just know the doctors need to do this so everyone is prepared and know it is standard for them to check every baby's heart. I am a diabetic so my babies have ultrasounds every month starting at 12 weeks to look for ALL the different birth defects that could cause problems, but I never felt nervous for an ultrasound, if anything it was calming because if there was a problem I'd want to know so I could prepare.

Good Luck! It's easy to stress and worry when your pregnant, so just make a list of all your questions or concerns so you can ask the u/s tech or your doctor.r

Congratulations on your boy! Try not to worry. I know how hard it is not to worry. The same thing happened to me, only it was my actual doctor who was doing the ultrasound. It was horrible because he wasn't saying anything during the ultrasound except the occasional "huh" or "hmm". Then he said he needed us to come back in a week for another one. Everything turned out fine. He said he just wanted to make extra sure he could see every part of the heart (which he couldn't the first time because my son wouldn't move around for him). We (at the time) lived in a rural area and he said if there was an issue, he wanted me to go to a bigger hospital to have our son. That's why it was so important for him to see every angle. Everything was fine. If you just can't stop worrying, go ahead and call your doctor and talk to him/her directly. They are there for your baby AND for you. They can address your concerns.

It is often tricky to get all the proper photos of the heart depending on how the baby is positioned during an ultrasound. We needed more photos of one of our children too and everything was fine. Chances are that you have nothing to worry about . All the best!

All the other posters are right -- the docs want a COMPLETE set of photos to make sure everything is A-OK ... I pray that you and your hubby are able to experience peace right now as you wait for the results. Our first daughter (now 2.5 years) had VSD when she was born (ventricular septal defect), which the pediatric cardiologist told us is the most common heart defect in babies. Both of the holes in her heart have closed up (which is what most always happens). So you see -- even if you DO get news like that, it often works itself out. Be encouraged, and please keep us posted.

The way I understand it is that the Ultrasound tech has a checklist of shots he/she is required to get. If he/she can't get the shot(s) at one sitting then the mommy needs to come back.

Hello H.,

I just wanted to let you know that this very same thing happened to me. The tech said that I would need to come back in for another ultrasound because they could not see everything on the baby(heart) at this stage(every baby is different). Don't worry. I'm not. I know its hard, but I'm pretty sure everything will be just fine. Oh yeah, were also having a boy! Take care.

K.