12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

Yesterday i had my 12 week appointment with my dr. My NT Scan is scheduled for this coming Tuesday at Madonna Perinatal. When i called Madonna they asked me if i wanted to meet with a Genetic Counselor...since my dr. didn't mention anything to me i asked if its necessary....they said that how we usually do the NT scan here. So i have the Genetic Counselor first and then the scan....is this normal? Is this necessary? There aren't any genetic problems in my family that i am aware of.

Also, at my appointment I was not supposed to get a sono....we were just going to listen to the heartbeat. My Dr. could not find the heartbeat and she said it may still be too soon....how is that possible? People on this board hear the babies heartbeat at 6 weeks?!?!? Well....since she couldn't hear the heartbeat and i almost had a heart attack because of this....she did a quick Sono. It was amazing! went from being a blob to being a little baby....moving around like crazy and waving hello. I was so relieved....but should i be worried about them not finding the baby's heart beat???

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

Its not usual AT ALL to hear the HB at 6 wks. People only see it then.

If they used the doppler yesterday sometimes if the baby is moving around its hard to hear the HB on that machine. When i went for my NT scan, they did sono and the machine loudly picked up the HB. When i went into exam rm 15 mins later, they did doppler and heard NOTHING bc the baby was moving around.

No worries!! Good luck!

Message edited 5/29/2009 11:59:47 AM.

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

actually they dont HEAR the baby's heart beat, they see it.

They see it through an internal sonogram.

it is probably too early to hear it through your belly.

i would ask your dr about the genetic counselor.

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

ok good! I was so anxious about that! Thanks!

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

I only heard the heartbeats at 6 weeks because I had an internal sono. There's no way they can hear it that early with a doppler. Don't worry!

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

I heard the heart beat at 7 weeks b/c it's an internal and dr's machine was able to switch to audio so we saw and heard it. But with a doppler..it's much harder. the baby has to be in a good position for it.

They offered genetic counseling for me too and when I asked them to explain it no one really could so I opted out of it. If there is a problem my dr. would explain it. I didn't feel like I needed to hear EVERYTHING that the u/s tested for and the possible things that "could" be wrong.

Re: 12 Week Appointment and a few questions....

My doctor doesn't try to hear the heartbeat on the doppler until the 16 week appt. Before that, I heard it only on the sonos. You can hear it on an internal sono if the machine has audio. I have heard it each time.

Message edited 5/29/2009 12:50:48 PM.