Pregnancy Forums

Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:56pm | IP Logged

Ello!

I was just wondering if I could seek a bit of advice, possibly from any other 'big girls' if there are any. I'm 21 weeks pregnant and I'm due to have my foetal anatomy/sexing scan a week on Thursday. The thing is I'm a big girl and have quite a (for want of a better description) flabby belly. I had my 12 week scan OK, but because of the size of the baby at that time and my wobbly belly, it took the Radiographer a while to find him/her.

I'm now worrying a bit that once again my flab is going to get in the way when I'm having the scan, and this time it's really important the Radiographer can get a clear view of the baby (aside from us really wanting to know the sex, my Hubby was born with spinabifida so they need to get a clear view of the baby's spine)  

Has anyone else been through pregnancy as a larger lady? Did it make any difference to your scans? Sorry if this sounds like a bit of a strange question, but as someone who wasn't eating very much and was fairly skinny during her last pregnancy; this side of things is all new to me (unlike being a fatty which I have been since my now 7 year old was born LOL).

Posted: 16 October 2007 at 9:12pm | IP Logged

Hello. Congratulations on your pg - exciting stuff!

It may take the radiographer a little longer for them to find what they're looking for, but it is perfectly possible, and usual, for larger ladies to have completely successful scans. More problems are caused by baby lying in an awkward position and refusing to move! According to NHS statistics, about 1 in 7 scans has to be re-done for one reason or another, so if you do get recalled, it may not be because of your weight. You might just find that they poke you and prod you a lot, but don't be scared to tell them if they make you too uncomfortable, and make sure you express your concerns so that they know particularly what to look for. Don't forget that your baby will be much much bigger than in the last scan, and therefore much easier to see.

As you are particularly worried about spina bifida, were you aware that you can ask for a bloodtest to check for indicators for this? (though this may be down to where you live) The test looks at the levels of the chemical Alphafetoprotein (AFP) in the blood. It can be done on its own or from the same sample as the triple test for Down’s syndrome. The test picks up about 9 out of 10 cases of Spina Bifida. It's not a conclusive test, as about 1 in 50 mothers have high AFP levels. In most cases, this is a false alarm. If you had any bleeding in early pregnancy could increase the chance of an inaccurate raised result.

Good luck for your scan. I hope all is well.

Rachel x

Posted: 17 October 2007 at 7:25am | IP Logged

Im also of the bigger variety and the sonographer had no problems at all with me!!  But because buster wouldnt perform for the camera it took a couple of goes to find out the sex!!  But all in all - no problems so dont worry!!!

Good luck and again Congrats on your pregnancy xxxx

Posted: 17 October 2007 at 9:12pm | IP Logged

Awwww thanks for all the replies, its really reassured me We're all really excited about the scan and I just wanted to ask some opinions so to prepare myself for the disappointment a frustration I was going to be feeling if my weight did get in the way. I appreciate we aren't guaranteed to see everything we want to, but at least now, if that does happen, I aren't going to automatically blame that on myself for being a fatty LOL.

Anyhow; I will give everyone and update once we've had the scan!