Completely uneventful anatomy scan

Our baby is a ham. S/he covered her face with both arms, waved,
kicked, danced the can can, and bounced on my bladder the entire time.
It was hilarious. The weirdest thing was feeling him/her move and
watching him/her move at the same time.

The technician said that everything looks normal. And it wasn't nearly
as uncomfortable as I expected, although there were a few times that
she pushed in just the right spot, and I was sure I was going to pee on
her! I took the whole water drinking thing a bit too seriously, I
think. I drank about 32 ounces, then I had to go pretty badly, and it
was still 45 minutes before the appointment, so I went to the bathroom
and started all over. I probably exceeded the 32 ounces they want you
to have, but that's ok.

We didn't find out the sex. My husband felt really strongly that we
should wait until the birth. We are probably going to do one of those
4D scans, though, just for fun.

The pictures of the face looked a little creepy. We might have to
start calling the baby Skeletor instead of Peanut... And we didn't get
one of those nice side lying shots of the whole baby, because s/he was
at the wrong angle - her head was down, her back was curled around my
left side, and her butt is at the top, with her head and feet on the
upper right side of my uterus. The technician said that the transducer
would need to be in the middle of my chest to get the right shot. I
offered to move around, but she said it wouldn't help... Oh well.

Amy

ULTRASOUND IMAGES ARE SUCH FUN BUT...

wrote in message
oups.com...
Our baby is a ham. S/he covered her face with both arms, waved,
kicked, danced the can can, and bounced on my bladder the entire time.
It was hilarious. The weirdest thing was feeling him/her move and
watching him/her move at the same time.


Turn up a standard ultrasound too high and it HURTS.

How would one know that a baby is being funny (or just active) and is not
being hurt by the ultrasound?

SOMETHING - maybe the ultrasound? - caused the third more intrauterine
growth retardation in the 5 ultrasound group relative to the 1 ultrasound
group discussed by Marsden Wagner, MD below.

The technician said that everything looks normal. And it wasn't nearly
as uncomfortable as I expected, although there were a few times that
she pushed in just the right spot, and I was sure I was going to pee on
her! I took the whole water drinking thing a bit too seriously, I
think. I drank about 32 ounces, then I had to go pretty badly, and it
was still 45 minutes before the appointment, so I went to the bathroom
and started all over. I probably exceeded the 32 ounces they want you
to have, but that's ok.

We didn't find out the sex. My husband felt really strongly that we
should wait until the birth. We are probably going to do one of those
4D scans, though, just for fun.

The pictures of the face looked a little creepy. We might have to
start calling the baby Skeletor instead of Peanut... And we didn't get
one of those nice side lying shots of the whole baby, because s/he was
at the wrong angle - her head was down, her back was curled around my
left side, and her butt is at the top, with her head and feet on the
upper right side of my uterus. The technician said that the transducer
would need to be in the middle of my chest to get the right shot. I
offered to move around, but she said it wouldn't help... Oh well.

Amy



In 1999, Marsden Wagner, MD, a neonatologist and perinatal epidemiologist
responsible for maternal and child health in the European Regional Office of
the World Health Organization for fourteen years wrote:

"[W]e now have sufficient scientific data to be able to say that routine
prenatal ultrasound scanning has no effectiveness and may very well carry
risks..."
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...p?q=ultrasound

Regarding a 1993 study, Dr. Wagner remarked:

From 2,834 pregnant women, 1,415 received ultrasound imaging at 18, 24, 28,
34 and 38 weeks gestation (intensive group) while the other 1,419 received
single ultrasound imaging at 18 weeks (regular group).

The only difference between the two groups was significantly higher
(one-third more) intrauterine growth retardation in the intensive group.

This important and serious finding prompted the authors to state: "It would
seem prudent to limit ultrasound examinations of the fetus to those cases in
which the information is likely to be of clinical importance."

END Dr. Wagner's remark...

Ultrasound images are such fun - but - I say again - SOMETHING - maybe the
ultrasound? - caused the third more intrauterine growth retardation in the 5
ultrasound group relative to the 1 ultrasound group.

Do we know anymore about the risks of ultrasound?

Anyone know?

One last matter - ultrasound output...

Dr. Wagner wrote in 1999...

The safety issue is made more complicated by the problem of exposure
conditions. Clearly, any bio-effects that might occur as a result of
ultrasound would depend on the dose of ultrasound received by the fetus or
woman. But there are no national or international standards for the output
characteristics of ultrasound equipment. The result is the shocking
situation described in a commentary in the British Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, in which ultrasound machines in use on pregnant women range in
output power from extremely high to extremely low, all with equal effect.
The commentary reads, "If the machines with the lowest powers have been
shown to be diagnostically adequate, how can one possibly justify exposing
the patient to a dose 5,000 times greater?" It goes on to urge government
guidelines on the output of ultrasound equipment and for legislation making
it mandatory for equipment manufacturers to state the output
characteristics. As far as is known, this has not yet been done in any
country.

5,000 times difference in dose?!

Surely they must have standardized output by now...

Todd

PS I just found this...

Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Aug;104(2):423-4. PubMed abstract

ACOG Committee Opinion. Number 297, August 2004. Nonmedical use of obstetric
ultrasonography.

ACOG Committee on Ethics.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has endorsed
the "Prudent Use" statement from the American Institute of Ultrasound in
Medicine (AIUM) discouraging the use of obstetric ultrasonography for
nonmedical purposes (eg, solely to create keepsake photographs or videos).
The ACOG Committee on Ethics provides reasons in addition to those offered
by AIUM for discouraging this practice.

Hi Amy,

I'm glad everything looks good, and that the baby
didn't turn exhibitionist on you, since you want
to be surprised. (With DS, it's a good thing we
wanted to know... DS1 I guess I should start saying!)

I'm surprised that they told you to drink water, though.
I've only rarely been told to do that for pg u/s.
I guess that a) the amniotic fluid is there and that
helps and b) the bladder just isn't in the way.

Emily

wrote:
Our baby is a ham. S/he covered her face with both arms, waved,
kicked, danced the can can, and bounced on my bladder the entire
time.
It was hilarious. The weirdest thing was feeling him/her move and
watching him/her move at the same time.

The technician said that everything looks normal. And it wasn't
nearly
as uncomfortable as I expected, although there were a few times that
she pushed in just the right spot, and I was sure I was going to pee
on
her! I took the whole water drinking thing a bit too seriously, I
think. I drank about 32 ounces, then I had to go pretty badly, and
it
was still 45 minutes before the appointment, so I went to the
bathroom
and started all over. I probably exceeded the 32 ounces they want
you
to have, but that's ok.

Hah! I did the water thing the first time, because I was told to, and
when the tech got the scan going she actually stopped, handed me a
plastic cup, and said, "go fill this twice and empty your bladder out a
bit!"

After that I just started ignoring the order to drink lots and not pee,
and in my other u/s's (2 more with #1, 1 total with #2) there was never
a problem.

Congrats on it going well and being so uneventful!!

Melania
Mom to Joffre (Jan 11, 2003)
and #2 (edd May 21, 2005)

I'm surprised that they told you to drink water, though.
I've only rarely been told to do that for pg u/s.
I guess that a) the amniotic fluid is there and that
helps and b) the bladder just isn't in the way.


when I've had scans in England I've always been told to drink at least a
pint of water, but when I had a scan here they made me go to the toilet
first, oh well, everyone is different!

Anne

Emily wrote:

I'm glad everything looks good, and that the baby
didn't turn exhibitionist on you, since you want
to be surprised. (With DS, it's a good thing we
wanted to know... DS1 I guess I should start saying!)

I'm surprised that they told you to drink water, though.
I've only rarely been told to do that for pg u/s.
I guess that a) the amniotic fluid is there and that
helps and b) the bladder just isn't in the way.

I could stand to lose a few pounds... That could be part of the reason
why they had me drink the water.

I'd prefer to know the sex, but DH feels really strongly that we should
wait... It's yellow and green for us for a few more months...

Amy

Melania wrote:

Hah! I did the water thing the first time, because I was told to, and
when the tech got the scan going she actually stopped, handed me a
plastic cup, and said, "go fill this twice and empty your bladder out
a
bit!"

After that I just started ignoring the order to drink lots and not
pee,
and in my other u/s's (2 more with #1, 1 total with #2) there was
never
a problem.

Ok, now I'm beginning to think that this water drinking thing is a
conspiracy...

Congrats on it going well and being so uneventful!!

Thanks!

Amy

Todd Gastaldo wrote:

snip

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche - www.lowcarbluxury.com

1 lb very lean hamburger
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked bacon, chopped in bits
3 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 oz shredded chedder or Swiss cheese
Garlic powder to taste, (optional)
Freshly-ground white pepper, to taste

1) Brown hamburger in skillet with onion. Remove and mix in bowl with
bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry mixer
until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and press
into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3) Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well. Pour
mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40 to 45 minutes until top is
browned and "set". Cool 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.
4) This can be packaged in Ziplocs or plastic containers for meals
quickly microwaved over the next 3 to 5 days. (Does not freeze well,
though.)
5) This recipe yields 6 servings; 2 carb grams per serving.

L & k,
Amy

wrote in message
oups.com...
Our baby is a ham. S/he covered her face with both arms, waved,
kicked, danced the can can, and bounced on my bladder the entire time.
It was hilarious. The weirdest thing was feeling him/her move and
watching him/her move at the same time.

that's great that everything is normal! sounds like you really enjoyed
seeing your bub.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th august 2002
#2 due 14th october 2005

"If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" -- Milton
Berle

wrote:
Melania wrote:

Hah! I did the water thing the first time, because I was told to,
and
when the tech got the scan going she actually stopped, handed me a
plastic cup, and said, "go fill this twice and empty your bladder
out
a
bit!"

After that I just started ignoring the order to drink lots and not
pee,
and in my other u/s's (2 more with #1, 1 total with #2) there was
never
a problem.

Ok, now I'm beginning to think that this water drinking thing is a
conspiracy...

I think it's standard for *other* abdominal scans, and they just follow
the standard with pregnancy scans, even though it doesn't have to be
done.

That's my guess, anywho.


Congrats on it going well and being so uneventful!!

Thanks!

Amy