What actually happens at the 20 week scan

[pringle88]

Hiya

Just wondering exactly what the process is for the 20 week scan... is it just you and the sonographer in the room and they call a dr if they need to or is a dr present?

what do they measure? all of the body parts or just the spine/head etc?

do you have an appointment with a consultant afterwards to go through findings or does the sonographer do that with you there and then?

How long does the appointment roughly last?

I've got mine in a few weeks so just want to know what to expect.

Thanks xx

 

[Alexandra84]

I just had mine last week so I think I can answer some of your questions.
They measure the circumference of the head and the abdomen and check that the skull is a normal shape. They also measure the length of the femurs (longest leg bones) and check the spine, heart, umbilical cord, digestive system, brain, hands, feet, and face for malformations or abnormalities (for example cleft lip, spina bifida etc.)

The scan lasts for about 30 min but I've heard it can go on for longer if the baby is not in a good position and they can't see something. It's just the sonographer and you (I had a student nurse as well) and there was no Drs appointment afterwards, just the scan.

This is what I assume happens if your scan is completely normal (as mine was) which it very likely will be . I have no idea what happens if they find any abnormalities etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[pringle88]

Thanks for that, good to know! I dont know why but the thought of a Dr in the room makes me nervous...like they are expecting something to go wrong!!

xx

 

[ss79]

there was no Dr present at ours last week. It only lasted about 15mins although sonographer said it could take 30mins or more. I asked the length of bean now but she said she doesn't measure the full length. I didn't drink any water before scan either. You'll be fine, don't worry about it. Good luck xx

 

[PrincessPeanut]

I was told it could take about 30-45 minutes. It's pretty similar to your 12 week scan except they take longer going through all the parts of the baby and measuring them to make sure they're on track. Nothing to worry about at all!
If the baby is in the wrong position, it could take a bit longer and they might have you up and about walking or moving around to try get baby to move so they can measure things. I was in there about 15 minutes tops. She was on her best behaviour... for once! xxx

 

[Bunnykins]

I was in for about 20 mins but it felt like forever, it was just me, oh and the sonographer, like everyone has said they check everything, mouth, head, measure the brain, heart (she checked all 4 chambers and then overlaid this colour filter to show the blood flow was ok) she measured his demurely, and checked his stomach, bladder and kidneys, and measured his femur and spent ages on the spine then finally she checked his gender because we asked. She talked us through it all, we were shocked how in-depth they check, only thing I didn't like was I barely got to see him move around like the 12 week scan as he was so big you only see bits of them at a time and she kept pausing the pic to measure things, so it felt more like the 12 week scan we saw the bubs and it was for us and 20 week scan is about checking him not really about you watching him wriggle!!

I did have to see a consultant after the apt but only cos I'm on consultant led pregnancy due to having had a dvt in the past and being on blood thinning injections, but he didn't mention the scan just went through the glucose tolerance test and my apt with the anaethatist for her to plan my epidural (because of the injections I have to have a fully comprehensive birth plan)

Just try and enjoy it hon its a lovely experience seeing how well developed they are getting!!

 

[Bunnykins]

*demurely lol darn predictive text, I don't even know what I meant to say might have been femur, argh baby brain just ignore that bit!!!!!

 

[PrincessPeanut]

Agree with bunnykins about the 12 wk/ 20 week scan. Much prefered the 12 week scan coz I got to see baby doing flips and waving arounds around like a looney. They're so much bigger at 20 weeks you only see parts at a time and they don't move and jump around as much xx