Raising Olives pregnant with #12, but baby is ailing

[Hisey]

I dont relly follow this family very much, but I have been impressed with the mom's honesty and humility. Anyhow, she is pregnant, but doctors say she may be losing the baby.

raisingolives.com/

[Miggy]

I wouldn't wish a miscarriage on anyone and I wish her I all the best. I do want to ask though, what is it with all the ultrasounds?

When I had my babies and with friends having bubs now, it is normal to have one ultrasound, somewhere between 16 & 20 weeks. Extra ultra sounds are only ordered when there is a special reason. For example; I had a second one after being very sick and doctors were concerned about the effect on the baby.

In this blog she has had a very early ultrasound. The later one obviously related to the results if the first but why have the first one? I am just asking because it seems on a lot of the blogs I read that multiethnic ultrasounds are common. My cousin-in-law in Minnesota (fundy) has 4 with her first and has already had 3 with her second and hasn't made it to half way yet.

Is this a fundy thing? An American thing? A city/country thing?

[Adrienne83]

I wouldn't wish a miscarriage on anyone and I wish her I all the best. I do want to ask though, what is it with all the ultrasounds?

When I had my babies and with friends having bubs now, it is normal to have one ultrasound, somewhere between 16 & 20 weeks. Extra ultra sounds are only ordered when there is a special reason. For example; I had a second one after being very sick and doctors were concerned about the effect on the baby.

In this blog she has had a very early ultrasound. The later one obviously related to the results if the first but why have the first one? I am just asking because it seems ton a lot of the blogs I read that multiethnic ultrasounds are common. My cousin-in-law in Minnesota (fundy) has 4 with her first and has already had 3 with her second and hasn't made it to half way yet.

Is this a fundy thing? An American thing? A city/country thing?

I had a very early ultrasound because they thought I was loosing the baby. I was bleeding like a normal period and they couldn't find anything. Turns out I ovulated late, and when I came back a week later they found the baby and everything was ok. My second ultrasound was when they would have done the first, for visual pregnancy confirmation. That one was at like, 6 weeks I think. Then I had another at 12 weeks, which if I'm not mistaken checked for certain kinds of birth defects. I also had a blood test as well, and could have refused both the blood test and ultrasound. Then at about 18 weeks I had a gender ultrasound. I also could have refused that one. I had to have more ultrasounds a couple weeks later, because the position the baby was in didn't allow for proper measurement and view of the heart. The first time they looked was at the 18 week ultrasound, and it took two more times after that to get the info. Then after that I had an ultrasound at about 35 weeks. This was to see if the baby had turned, but sadly he was stuck breech and that's when they scheduled my C-section. If you count the three 18 week ultrasounds as one, I had 4 ultrasound appointments with my doctor. From what I gather from my friend's pregnancies that's pretty standard. I also had many many elective ultrasounds, but I don't count them in this count as they weren't given by my doctor.

With my son they originally thought I was having a miscarriage, but they were obviously wrong. I hope the same for her. :(

[ILoveJellybeans]

Its always sad when complications happen like this and someone is going to lose a much wanted pregnancy.

[Melissa1977]

In Spain you have 3 ultrasounds in social security medical care (free medical care), at 12, 20 and 32 weeks. At 12 and 20 doctors check if the baby has a normal development and they also check for genetic desorders.

However, if you go to private doctors, they use to do 6 or more ultrasounds. I had 8 ultrasounds with my first pregancy and it was a healthy, normal pregnancy. It wasn't expensive, it was included in the monthly insurance bill. Maybe Olives mother has a medical insurance that includes a lot of ultrasounds.

[chaotic life]

In the US it's pretty common to do an early ultrasound for dating purposes. They will also do an ultrasound for any bleeding issues or other concerns of threatened miscarriage.

The least ultrasounds I ever had was two, an early one for dating and a 20 week scan for development and anatomical reasons. My last two pregnancies were high risk so I had many more than that with both of them since I was alternating biophysical profiles with weight checks for the entire third trimester with both of those babies, both of which require ultrasound to perform.

[teachergirl]

Maybe high risk then for her with her age and so many pregnancies??? I only had two with my first, one at 8 weeks and then 20.

[Dutch_girl]

When I read it, to me it sounds like the first ultrasound was a little early, she was not as far along as she thought she was. Then a second ultrasound because the first one was to early and because the second one was abnormal she got a third ultrasound

[Wenny]

I've had 5/6 during this high risk pregnancy. One for comfirmation, 20 weeks after that to monitor for IUGR. My 6 is this month and check on the placenta.

[August]

I wouldn't wish a miscarriage on anyone and I wish her I all the best. I do want to ask though, what is it with all the ultrasounds?

When I had my babies and with friends having bubs now, it is normal to have one ultrasound, somewhere between 16 & 20 weeks. Extra ultra sounds are only ordered when there is a special reason. For example; I had a second one after being very sick and doctors were concerned about the effect on the baby.

In this blog she has had a very early ultrasound. The later one obviously related to the results if the first but why have the first one? I am just asking because it seems on a lot of the blogs I read that multiethnic ultrasounds are common. My cousin-in-law in Minnesota (fundy) has 4 with her first and has already had 3 with her second and hasn't made it to half way yet.

Is this a fundy thing? An American thing? A city/country thing?

American thing. My friends who went to OBs said the OB had a machine and would do one at every visit.

I had three, one at 6 weeks to check location/heartbeat, one for NT at 11 weeks and the anatomy one around 18-20. ETA, plus one super quick before induction to confirm head down.

[nelliebelle1197]

American thing. My friends who went to OBs said the OB had a machine and would do one at every visit.

I had three, one at 6 weeks to check location/heartbeat, one for NT at 11 weeks and the anatomy one around 18-20. ETA, plus one super quick before induction to confirm head down.

I had early bleeding and the baby's size didn't match the hormone level and my conception date (I think I miscarried a twin). I managed to get an ultrasound every couple weeks due to weird hormone levels and my old age!

[Savoring Samsara]

I had 6. Four of those were what I would consider routine: one at my initial 6 week appointment to check dates, one at 13 weeks to check for birth defects (this one was optional but we chose to go for it since insurance covered it and hey, pictures, why not), the 20 week anatomy scan, and one at 32 weeks that I'm not really sure what it was for. I also had two additional ones in the last week of my pregnancy after I went ridiculously far past my due date, because they wanted to make sure that everything was okay in there. (I was ultimately induced and my son was born at 42 weeks.) In the US at least, I think 3-4 ultrasounds is pretty common, and anything more than that indicates that there was some kind of concern about the pregnancy that necessitated closer monitoring. My friend had pregnancy-induced hypertension and ended up having WAY more than 6 ultrasounds, for instance.

[apple1]

Is this a fundy thing? An American thing? A city/country thing?

I am American and I am OLD. Ultrasounds existed, but I didn't have any; at that time, they were reserved for EXTREME situations only.

My daughter just delivered my 2nd granchild a couple of months ago. She had 4 ultrasounds, but she also was what turned out to be a high-risk pregnancy, in addition to a question about actual due date that they were attempting to resolve. Not sure overall, but I think 4 ultrasounds is unusual, except for high risk pregs.

[sparkles]

I don't remember how many ultrasounds I had back in 1990 (my one and only pregnancy at 35). Two maybe, one at around 20 weeks and one when I checked into the hospital? Dunno. I think they're definitely much more frequent these days.

I do hope for the best for her and the baby, but did anyone else have a little WTF? moment when she capped off her heartfelt post asking for prayers for the baby with a bright and cheery "Here are the winners of our Lila Rose contest! Still time to buy yours! From ME!"

[MissA]

I think it really depends on the doctor... I had two, the CAS at 20 weeks and then one at the very end because I went a bit post-dates. I went to a very large but rather hippyish OBGYN practice and this was their standard for low-risk pregnancies. But other friends of mine who also had uneventful pregnancies had several apiece... early ones for dating, multiple attempts to find out the sex, etc. Really almost one US per visit.

[quinoa]

What happened to the two children she was supposed to be adopting from her shady private foster care setup?

[Beammeup]

I had over 30 ultrasounds with my high risk pregnancy. I stopped counting.

On my normal pregnancy, I had a "informal" ultrasound at every doctor visit. It lets me keep my pants on so I'm good. My ob can check heart rate, cervix, growth, etc. I had an in depth "Level 2" ultrasound at 20 weeks. My OB bills for the first ultrasound and the level 2 on a normal pregnancy, and on my high risk they billed for some but not most of the ultrasounds I had at that office. I also had ultrasounds at different hospitals for consults with perinatologists and second opinions.

[keen23]

My first two "normal" pregnancies were just two ultrasounds- one around 14 weeks to date the pregnancy (I've never been seen by an OBGYN in the first trimester, and never known I was pregnant before 6-8 weeks into a pregnancy), and another around 20 weeks to check development. With my third, high risk pregnancy, I had 15- One a week from weeks 27-36, every other week before that starting at 17 weeks, and an initial ultrasound to date the pregnancy. IUGR was being continually monitored. I delivered at 37 weeks, as soon as her lungs were developed.

[shaylahc]

Back when I had my children (1996, 1999, 2001, 2004) it was common to have 1 or 2 ultrasounds (depending on the doctor). Usually the first one was to see if the fetus was viable (done around 8 weeks, at the first doctor visit). The second one was done at 20 weeks to sex the baby, and make sure things looked ok.

Oddly enough, I had 4 ultrasounds with my 2nd daughter, and no one picked up that she was missing one of her kidneys :-/

[slp]

For my last three pregnancies, it has been the 'norm' to do an ultrasound at the first appointment for dating, then another at 20ish weeks for finding out the gender, and also usually a little more in depth to make sure things are going well, developing normally.

I also had an extra one b/c the doctor could not find the heartbeat at 16 weeks and she wanted to see it on the ultrasound screen.

Also, in another pregnancy, I had several ultrasounds just b/c I had extra amniotic fluid and that can apparently cause problems with the baby sometimes. So every appt they checked to be sure baby was ok.

[argypargy]

As far ultrasounds go in the US, it is not standard to have so many. The standard is typically only a 20w anatomy scan and possibly an early one if you're unsure of your dates or for the OB's confirmation. The reason some people get a lot is usually because they have dealt with infertility, have a history of early loss, bleeding or something concerning was found (in the case of the Raising Olives mother). I spend a lot of time on pregnancy boards and you would be amazed at how many women are extremely upset that their OB/MW didn't perform an early U/S. I say, you are lucky if you do not require an early U/S, since it usually means you didn't have a tough time getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

[Belle0000]

My OB typically does one at 8-10 weeks to check the HB, confirm gestational age, etc., anatomy scan at 20w, and for first-timers like myself, a quick one at 24-26w to check the thickness of the cervix.

There is supposed to be a quick one to check the baby's position upon admission to L&D as well. (Which for me, will hopefully be next week...39w today!)

[frumper-rump]

I am in the US and my last pregnancy in 2012 I only had 2 ultrasounds. I had the normal anatomy scan, where baby measused small for gestational age. I came back a few weeks later to make sure he was growing ok. He had caught up so they were no longer concerned. During my pregnancy in 1999, I only had one prenatal u/s at around 20 weeks and then had one in L&D because baby was in distress.

[dianapavelovna]

What happened to the two children she was supposed to be adopting from her shady private foster care setup?

The last mention I see of them is about a month ago: raisingolives.com/2013/11/getting-ready/. Kimberly's ill grandmother also lives with them.

[August]

I had early bleeding and the baby's size didn't match the hormone level and my conception date (I think I miscarried a twin). I managed to get an ultrasound every couple weeks due to weird hormone levels and my old age!

I was offered regular followup u/s for a trivial thing, but from the look on the doc's face I was the only person ever to ask if it was OK if I didn't have them.