Anatomy scan

The anatomy scan, or "big" ultrasound, is usually performed between 18-22 weeks. It's an in-depth look at every aspect of the uterus and the baby's anatomy, attempting to identify any abnormalities or other concerns. This is also traditionally when parents find out the baby's sex, if desired -- although these days, a lot of people do elective gender ultrasounds around 16 weeks, or even get a gender guess at the NT scan.

With Littles -- January 16, 2007 (20 weeks)

Although my OBs had ultrasound equipment and were able to use it, they sent me to a different office to get the anatomy scan done with an ultrasound tech. I don't know if that was for scheduling purposes (since the anatomy scan typically takes a lot longer than the average OB appointment) or because the ultrasound equipment in that office was better or what.

Anyway, I didn't mind, because the ultrasound tech was fantastic. He really took a lot of time to explain what he was looking at, which was helpful because I don't know about you, but even after three pregnancies, ultrasound pictures usually remind me of those "hidden picture" books where you have to really squint and turn your head just the right way and then bam! oh OK, I see it now :)

We did choose to find out the sex at this time. I'll probably do another post on that whole decision.

With Noob -- September 15, 2009 (20 weeks)

The anatomy scan was done at my midwives' office, although not by either of the midwives, because they aren't able to do ultrasounds. Instead, it was done by the same ultrasound tech who did Noob's initial dating ultrasound. I was unimpressed by the tech's bedside manner at that first ultrasound, and the anatomy scan was no better. It was a lot faster than the scan with Littles, because the tech just did the scan, barely explaining what she was looking at.

We elected not to find the sex with Noob. I'm not sure how much that played into our experience. At certain points, the tech asked us to look away to avoid accidentally getting a peek at the genitals, so we weren't able to look at everything like we had with Littles. She may also have been reluctant to do anything beyond what she had to do, to avoid the chances of another accidental peek.

I'm also not sure if the tech could say very much. At some offices, ultrasound techs aren't really able to give the patients the results (good or bad) directly; they simply take pictures and pass them along to the OB for review. So that might have been the case here.

Regardless, it was fine, but definitely a bit of a letdown from our experience with Littles.

With Q -- February 20, 2012 (20 weeks, 6 days)

C sends her patients to a local women's center for the anatomy scan. Must be interesting for them to get C's patients in there, since I'm guessing that many of the scans they do are for women with an unplanned pregnancy who are considering abortion...

We decided to bring Littles along, and it was a really nice setup for her. Unlike the ultrasound rooms where we'd had Littles' and Noob's anatomy scans, this one was clearly designed with the idea that women might bring their kids along. There was a stool for Littles to stand on to get a good look, and lots of toys to play with if/when she got bored of watching the confusing images on the screen. Littles hung in there for a good 10 minutes or so, but she quickly discovered the hot pink Barbie toy car, and that occupied her for the remainder of the scan.

Another difference from the previous anatomy scans was that C was there. (For the other scans, it was just my husband and me with the ultrasound tech.) This turned out to be a good thing, as during the scan, there was a problem identified with Q's right kidney. C was able to look at the ultrasound side-by-side with the tech, rather than relying on pictures after the fact. She was able to discuss the implications with us immediately, in person, rather than waiting till our next appointment or calling us on the phone. And within 10 minutes of the end of the appointment, she had me scheduled for a follow-up ultrasound with a perinatologist to get a better look at the kidney and determine a course of action.

Of course, I would have preferred to have had a totally normal scan, as I did with Littles and Noob -- but if I had to pick one of the three anatomy scans to be abnormal, it would have been Q's for sure, due to C's calm presence.

The follow-up ultrasound is tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get some better answers as to what's going on and how big (or small!) of a problem it is. Right now, we just don't know.