Does some one know.. ultrasound... HELP!!!?

Question

i am currently 12 weeks pregnant. my doctor told me last friday that i need to call the hospital for an ultrasound.. the thing is... most of them are booked out already. i am supposed to be getting an ultrasound to check for down syndrome (there has been no past of downsyndrome in my family) what are the chances of my baby having downsyndrome??? is there another way you can find out? is there certain things that may happen in pregnancy (symptoms) that may show that ymy baby may not be well??

my doctor said last week (we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time) that is was a perfect heartbeat and that the baby sounds very healthy.. i forget waht the rate was, but she said there is definitely no problems there.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

you NEED the ultra sound. try another hospital.

Answer 2

Call your doctor and tell her that you are having trouble scheduling the ultrasound.  Maybe she will help you get in.

Answer 3

The ultrasound that you are trying to schedule is to check for possible signs of Down's. The only way to confirm it is with an amnio or cvs, which are both invasive procedures.

If you are over the age of 35, then you are considered advanced maternal age and then you are screened closer. They also take into consideration your family history. The incidence of Down's without a family history and under age 35 is about 1 in 1000.

My advice is to schedule the ultrasound for the first available time and then call your doctor to let him/her know the date and if that is not satisfactory then he/she will help you get an earlier time.

There are no symptoms that you will experience that will let you know if your baby is well. Throughout the pregnancy there will be ultrasounds and maybe other test to determine if the baby is doing well. At each visit the doctor will listen for the heart beat, an ultrasound will be done to see if the brain ventricles are developing and if the heart has 4 chambers, the length of the femur, the size of the head and chest and other things that they look for to determine the health/growth of the baby.

I hope this helps you. If you have any other questions about Down's ask your doctor because only your doctor can help ease your fears. Besides that, your doctor needs to know what your concerns about the pregnancy are. You can also google Down's and other issues related to pregnancy.

Answer 4

How old are you? Cause if you are over the age of 35 the chances of having a Downs baby is much greater. I dont know if there are any "differences" between pregnancies, I dont think there would be, just be patient and everything will be just fine.

Answer 5

It is normal for a doctor to request that you get a ultrasound at 12-16 weeks in your pregnancy to check for Downs or other defects.  They are not 100% accurate and can cause a lot of stress that isn't needed.

There is nothing you can do to prevent it or cause it.  

Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. In most cases of Down syndrome, however, a child gets an extra chromosome - for a total of 47 chromosomes instead of 46. It's this extra genetic material that causes the physical and cognitive delays associated with DS.

Although no one knows for sure why DS occurs and there's no way to prevent the chromosomal error that causes it, scientists do know that women age 35 and older have a significantly higher risk of having a child with the condition. At age 30, for example, a woman has less than a 1 in 1,000 chance of conceiving a child with DS. Those odds increase to 1 in 400 by age 35. By 42, it jumps to about 1 in 60.

If you are worried that all the ultrasound techs in your area are booked up, tell your obgyn and s/he can probably direct you to a clinic that does ultrasounds primarily.

Answer 6

it sounds to me like the doctors office needs to call the hospital to schedule an appt. if you can't get one...call your doctors office and tell them .....how can they be booked...is there another sonographer you can go to...?

Answer 7

sweetheart, there is nothing wrong with getting the ultrasound done after 12 weeks.  in most county hospitals, due to the overcrowding, the moms aren't able to get ultrasounds until 4-5 months into pregnancy.

if the heartbeat is regular and strong then i don't think you have anything to worry about.

if you aren't able to get ultrasound soon maybe ask for amniocenthesis (they use a needle and syringe to extract fluid from your amniotic sac to test the gene pool for signs of downs).  being that neither you nor your mate have family history of it they probably won't do it as it is very costly.

there is no real formula to tell you if the baby is going to have any problems, but being a mom of 4 and a nurse, i don't think you have anything to worry about.  

if i can be of any assistance to you give me a holla!!

by the way, prayer always works---just have faith that the baby will be healthy and strong.  God bless you and Congrats!!

Answer 8

This is odd. They usaully ask you where u would like to go and send you. As far as downs I didnt realize they could diagnois this way I thought it had to be done by amnioscentices???  My dr did one first visit then at 7 mths. Some dr wont do it until the 7 mth. for avoidance of abortion issues. Some women will abort if they dont like the s*x of it.

Answer 9

Call you doctors office and let them know what the time-line is for getting in for an ultrasound.  If it is something that needs to be done immediately, than you doctor can usually call and get you in.  If it is not a huge concern, than you doctor may tell you that is fine and go ahead and schedule it at the time-slot that they have.

Answer 10

i would just schedule an appointment as soon as you can but dont worry about it till then. the chances are pretty slim especially if there is none in your family. there is another way of testing that involves a needle taking out some of the fluid from your womb but its a bit more dangerous and painful. relax, rest, and enjoy being pregnant because before it tires you out it is wonderful so dont waste too much time worrying  in the unlikely risks. congrats and good luck

Answer 11

This is odd, the doctor's office usually sets those appointments for you.  Furthermore, the doctor usually schedules an amniocentesis at about 15 to 16 weeks, if he/she suspects there is a chance of Down's, blood work or other existing factors would lead to this.  Down's is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in developing cells.  This is not linked to heredity in any way.  Check out the sites below.  I hope this is useful!