My 1st Dr appt...

[klts]

I had my first Dr appt today (due 1/9/10) and was suprised that they did not do an ultrasound. They asked about family history went over dos and don'ts and finally did a pap test and drew blood. She did say that my uteras felt like it was the proper size for ~7wks and they scheduled the next dr appt for 6/24 and an ultrasound for 7/1 (at 12wks). I am disappointed that I did not get to see or hear anything of my baby - I can't wait for July to come!! Has anyone else had to wait this long?
Thanks!
karen

[lil_lady25]

For my first pregnancy I went in for my 7 week appt and they did the same - took down my medical history and did a pap smear. My next appt wasnt until I was 11 weeks along where I would hear the heartbeat. Sadly that's when we found out my baby had stopped developing at 9 weeks along. I think a reason they have you wait is because m/c in the first trimester are pretty common and it is easier for woman to move on without becoming too attached. I know if I would have heard the heartbeat I would have been so much more devastated. Dont get me wrong I was very sad but I never really connected with the baby and knew seeing the first heartbeat would do that. Good luck! Dont stress, the doctors know what their doing.

[klts]

Thanks for the great advise, I have seen that others are having to wait longer as well. The wait will be hard but worth it. :)

[Dragon1973]

Hi there,
I hope that you do get to schedule an Ultrasound sooner, but I am not too sure if you had read some of the other ladies posts (including my own) that sometimes when the do it too early, you may get a little disappointment and other additional worries that if done later you might not have to face (such as seeing no heartbeat, not having concurrent growth for the gestational dating from LMP etc.)  Not that this happens to everyone, but I suspect that your doctor may have had this too many times, and has just created a personal standard to not do any u/s's until that point.  In any case if there were something wrong, you wouldn't be able to do any specific prenatal testing like CVS or Amnio if you wanted to do verifications for chromosomal abnormalities (which are the leading cause for miscarriage and loss.)  As I understand those types of (more invasive testing are only available after 12 weeks for CVS and 16 weeks for Amnio.)  Hopefully if you are able to get a sooner ultrasound, it will be after 8 weeks, which is normally the best time to get a first one done.  Any sooner and you may not be able to see the things in which they determine "Viability" of your pregnancy.
I know personally how difficult it is to wait though, but if you don't see the usual things, waiting the additional weeks to verify that they are there can be so much more painstaking!
Please do keep us all informed!  And good luck!
My thoughts are with you, and if you have any other questions that I can help you with, please feel free to message me directly.

Sincerely,
Sandi (Dragon1973)
MedHelp Down syndrome Community Leader
& Ds Group Forum Founder/Moderator

[airdink]

Hm, I also had my first appointment today, but they did an ultrasound.  I'm not sure why they wouldn't.  It didnt look like much at this point, but you could definitely see that it was something, as well as the fluttering heartbeat.

Maybe you could call them back tomorrow and ask why so long?