So this is going to be a bit of a controversial post, but I feel I have to write it. In the IF world (and I'm sure to some extent in the fertile myrtles' world too) it seems when the unthinkable happens and we actually get pregnant, we then have a lot of scans. I understand the urge to scan. I mean if we could we'd want one everyday. To see the bubba that we have longed for for so long and never quite believed would happen. I understand that urge to see that everything is progressing well, heart is beating and baby is developing just right.
But. There could be a downside. Lately I have read a lot of reports online and different studies in books which bring into question the safety of pre-natal scanning particularly in the first trimester. It does make me wonder, and I can understand the reasoning why that might be the case. I mean it's ultrasound. Sound waves, i.e. vibrations. Perhaps vibrations on that scale when the embryo is vulnerable and in such a delicate state could do damage. In the UK they are not recommending women have scans until 12 weeks, unless there is some special reason to have a scan earlier. Many of the books I have read have advised to only have two scans during the pregnancy if possible. So could scanning actually be dangerous?
In one book I have, the author talks about how there are no legal limits placed on the levels of sonic energy emitted from ultrasound machines and that there is not enough research to show that the current levels are safe.
So. What does all this mean? Well I think each person has to make up their own mind about how they want to deal with this. Personally, I am reluctant to scan too much. My doctor wanted to scan me each week. I said NO. I went for one scan just before 8 weeks to see that everything was okay. Dr. B wanted me back in at 11 weeks and I said 12. It's like bargaining in the market here! He accepted that. I just didn't want another scan in my first trimester. I want the baby to just get on with developing and growing without ultrasound vibrations potentially affecting this process. Though the urge to take a sneak-peak at Baby A is always there. (Baby A is the new internet name for our little bubba. Not because I am so unimaginative I just picked the first letter of the alphabet. Or because we are having twins - WHICH WE ARE NOT. But because A is the first letter of our surname.)
It is a minefield. And when it comes to health and babies, I know it won't be the last minefield we have to navigate. But IF is all about navigating potential minefields. We've been there. We've read the books and the medical reports, we've questioned the experts, we've trawled the depths of the internet and we got the t-shirt. So this is just another part of the journey. Though this part of journey is so much better than the last two years, that's for sure! Yes it is. Even with all the vomiting.
