This is often called a “missed”, “silent” or “delayed” miscarriage. Sadly, sometimes these scans show that the baby has died, possibly some weeks earlier and often without any signs or symptoms such as bleeding or pain. You can find out more about routine, nuchal and anomaly scans at the website of the charity ARC – Antenatal Results and Choices Sadly… Most hospitals also offer a further anomaly scan at 20 weeks, making a more detailed check of the baby’s development.

The purpose of this scan is to try to detect some chromosome abnormalities, such as Downs syndrome. Some women may be offered a nuchal scan between 11 and 14 weeks.

to check whether there is one baby, or twins or more.

Most pregnant women are referred for their first routine (or booking or dating) ultrasound scan somewhere between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. All too often, a scan at 6 weeks shows very little or nothing, even in a perfectly developing pregnancy, whereas waiting a week or 10 days will make the findings much clearer. When can I have an ultrasound scan? When can you see the baby’s heartbeat?Īn ultrasound scan may be able to detect a pregnancy and a heartbeat in a normal pregnancy at around 6 weeks, but this varies a great deal and isn’t usually advised. If you bleed after a vaginal scan, it will most likely be because there was already blood pooled higher in the vagina and the probe dislodged it. There is no evidence that having a vaginal or an abdominal scan will cause a miscarriage or harm your baby. That may give some information about your pregnancy, but it is less clear than an internal scan and that could possibly delay diagnosis. If you don’t want a trans-vaginal scan, you can ask for a trans-abdominal scan. He or she then moves the scanner over the gel, sometimes pressing down, until the uterus (womb) and pregnancy can be seen. The person doing the scan spreads a special gel on your lower abdomen (below your belly button and above the line of pubic hair). It may also be offered after 11 or 12 weeks if a trans-abdominal scan doesn’t give a clear enough picture.įrom 11 or 12 weeks, including at the routine booking-in scan, it is more common to have a trans-abdominal scan. This gives the clearest and most accurate picture in early pregnancy.

In early pregnancy, especially before 11 weeks, it is usual to have a trans-vaginal (internal) scan, where a probe is placed in the vagina. There are two ways of doing an ultrasound scan. Ultrasound scans in pregnancy may be routine or they may be offered because of pain or bleeding or because of problems in a previous pregnancy. Simply Say – supporting someone you know.

8 week sonogram