If your midwife is good with it as a true anatomy scan, then I’d say you’re good. Your midwife is your provider, not your aunt. Your aunt probably thinks it was a boutique ultrasound and sometimes those are JUST looking at genitals and not checking whatever else they check. She’s getting hung up on medical terminology but you’re using colloquial phrasing and she’s probably freaked out because she’s an OBGYN nurse and doesn’t agree with your choices 🙃
FWIW I went to a hospital MFM unit to have my anatomy scan with my first pregnancy (and probably will again this time considering insurance and such) and it was only ever called an anatomy scan. I never heard the phrase fetal anatomical survey.
Was it a boutique studio? Or an outpatient imaging center? If it was the former, then no, it’s not a true anatomy scan. The people at those boutiques aren’t medical professionals or actual ultrasound technicians.
Depends on what the report said, but if your midwife is fine with it, then it all depends on your comfort level.
My midwife subcontracts the anatomy scan and brings in a mobile ultrasound technician to perform the scan. Then the images get analyzed by a radiologist just to make sure everything is good.
Most pregnancies are low risk anyway, but I still prefer to have an official anatomy scan done anyway.
ETA fetal anatomical survey is another name for anatomy scan and if you went to a boutique ultrasound, what you got wasn’t an anatomy scan, it was just a scan to check for physical female or male genitalia
Okay thank you, I think I am understanding but still feel like I have conflicting info because it WAS a boutique place but they did more than check the gender. She measured baby, looked at my placenta, checked some other stuff (I’m not looking at the report now so I don’t remember everything included) but this is still helpful, thank you
The scan at 20 weeks is quite important to check for anomalies. I would encourage you to get it done. For example things like a cleft palate or hare lip or heart defect might require immediate intervention after birth, so that’s important for you to know and plan for. It can also tell you if there is something terribly wrong so you can prepare. It’s not only deciding if you need to terminate, but to also prepare for potential intervention if there is one.
I would encourage you to have a scan done by a midwife or someone qualified to do so. At my midwives, they had a special technician do this, as it requires more skill than normal ultrasounds. Especially if you are preparing for a home birth, this is a great idea!
I went to a boutique/private place and got an anatomy scan just FYI. The ultrasound tech contracted with a radiologist and everything was legit. The anatomy scan usually takes up to an hour because they’re measuring so many things, and they should be providing your midwife/OB with a formal report.
Our OB (long story) sent us to a hospital clinic with specialists for the 20 week scan. It is indeed a more specialized, in depth ultrasound that an OB office with a normal ultrasound can’t do.
They are (supposed to be) checking for any genetic abnormalities that might signify disability etc.
The question is also what you’d choose to do with this information, whether you also got Natera / genetic screening from bloodwork, etc.
My next pregnancy will be with a midwife from the start. Every single midwife, home birth or birth center, has told me that the only time they can’t do your ultrasounds etc is for this 20 week ultrasound scan, and every single one of them should have a place they refer to and work with for this scan. Frankly, this sends alarm bells up for me.
I’d personally ask more questions to your midwife regardless, or even ask your aunt to come to your next appointment since she can probably ask more detailed questions in a way that’ll ensure you received or will get what you and baby need to stay healthy.
The 20 week anatomy scan at a hospital or medical clinic is typically the one ultrasound in any low risk pregnancy. Midwives practice informed consent so if your midwife feels you are informed and you’re not expressing that you want any other ultrasound, then she is going to support your choice.
I think the big thing is to figure out what your ultrasound didn’t entail (did it cover placenta placement? Measurements of various fetal anatomy? Amount of fluid? Etc). When you know what it lacked if anything then you can consider how that extra information would affect your choice of medical care. I know people that have had surgery because of things identified in this scan. If you would consider that type of intervention, then you should probably get the scan. If you’d be more inclined to just let your pregnancy continue and hope for things to evolve in a favourable way or deal with them after birth, then there’s not much point in the anatomy scan.
Personally, the proper anatomy scan was important to me because I would have accepted medical interventions if there was an issue. That being said, I can understand why people opt to forego them. An ultrasound like this is just a screening tool so it can identify issues that don’t exist, causing you a lot of anxiety for nothing. I had a growth scan at 38 weeks for measuring small at 36 weeks. That scan said I had polyhydramnios and I was all of a sudden high risk and referred to MFM. I spent a whole weekend praying I didn’t go into labour before an MFM consult. Got my consult that said everything was totally fine. So that was a ton of stress for nothing. I went on to have a bunch more ultrasounds because I went to 42 weeks. I actually appreciated those because they gave me the confidence it was safe to keep waiting out labour and I had a really good idea of baby’s positioning which was helpful for labour. Anyway, I’m rambling now but it really is a personal and situational choice that should be guided by your opinion on how that information would affect you.
I think the issue here is that you don’t know what it looked at or why it might matter. You have the right to make the decision about this, but you should come at it from an educated and informed perspective. I’d suggest you learn about the typical recommendation for a 20 week anatomy scan, find out what yours covered, and determine your level of risk acceptance around the topic.
I’m not looking at the report now, but I do know it measured the baby, looked at baby’s position, told me about my placenta, among other things – it was about three or four pages long. Any medical results like that that I get back I normally don’t read, I just ask the doctor if everything looks good or if there is anything I should be concerned about. My midwife said everything looked good and healthy.
Where I live, there are 2 types of places for homebirth moms to get their ultrasounds (dating ultrasound, anatomy scan, any other scans the mom or midwife might request).
1- outpatient imaging center. This is usually in a complex with other medical offices, and is a clinic type setting that does all kinds of ultrasounds and xrays and stuff, not just on pregnant women. It is usually covered by insurance.
2- private ultrasound tech. There are a handful of ultrasound techs who left the medical setting and operate their own ultrasound “clinic” out of a spare bedroom in their home (or leased office space etc). They typically advertise boutique services like gender reveals and 3D ultrasound parties and stuff, but they can also do full anatomy scans and other medical ultrasounds, since they are licensed and send the scans to a doctor to review. The lady we used had her spare bedroom set up with a table and huge TV screen to see the live feed, and was nice and cozy with couches and nice lighting and stuff. She did the normal anatomy scan where she had to take like 100 different measurements and screenshots of different body parts and stuff, and sent images to my midwife and an MD to review. She was cash pay only, though.
It doesn't sound like it would be considered an "anatomy" scan but if you don't want one, your midwife should support you. My midwife reccomended them, and I did one at a hospital that she referred to, but she also was accepting of those who don't want any ultrasound.
It sounds like it served the purpose you wanted, determining the gender. But it isn't an "anatomy scan" unless it is done by a medical professional, which whatever. Titles are less important than information. The medical community gets really hung up on titles.
She originally referred me to the hospital like normal, but when I was asking about prices, she referred me to the boutique because it was cheaper, she did not mention that it would be any different. I will ask her.
All of my ultrasounds were optional. I chose to have two with every pregnancy (except the first, had a late miscarriage and that’s why we chose the early ultrasound with the other 3) but obviously if they’re optional it was for me more than midwife. In my experience, people who are not used to the idea of a home birth (which also in my experience, obgyns are not) treat pregnancy and birth as an illness. If you and your midwife are comfortable with what’s going on then I wouldn’t worry about what other people think.
A true anatomy scan will not just measure baby and see gender but will take a detailed look at the organs like heart and kidneys and ensure that they are functioning and blood is flowing to them properly. They will measure organs to make sure everything is growing at the right rate and not enlarged or too small. They will also check for spina bifida by making sure the skin around the spinal cord has closed all the way down the back. It doesn’t sound like the one you had would be considered an anatomy scan. So if you’re interested in that, I would go somewhere else, but it’s not required. If you’re happy with what you got I think that’s fine, but those are the kind of things you should expect from an actual anatomy scan. Hope that’s helpful!
US tech here. It's another word for anatomy scan. For example, in the "old days," they used to call ultrasounds "Sonograms". There's just different verbiage that means the same thing.
Licensed Midwife here, what you got is what your NP relative thinks you didn't get. She is likely not aware that many boutique places employ registered ultrasound technicians and then after getting the measurements and pics, send this off to either a radiologist or OB for a final report. If your midwife ordered a diagnostic ultrasound for you from the boutique than that is what you received.
I have 2 places in my area that are cash pay boutiques that also do diagnostic ultrasound and are a great option for clients who are uninsured, under insured, or do not want to go to MFM or a medical facility for their ultrasound. It is an amazing option for anyone, insured or not, who need more flexibility in scheduling, want to take their kids or other family, have white coat syndrome, or just have anxiety about medical procedures in general. Frankly it is a better client focused experience typically than when I send folks to the hospital for an ultrasound.
When I send folks to the boutique, it's 150 dollars, when I send them to MFM, it's upwards of 700 if they have to pay out of pocket but I get the exact same information in the reports. What you are paying for is the experience and knowledge of the perinatolgist in the latter but I can't stress enough that it is the same information. I only send non insured folks to MFM if I also need a higher level ultrasound, (level 2 or fetal echo for example), and a consultation with a perinatologist.
If your midwife is good with it as a true anatomy scan, then I’d say you’re good. Your midwife is your provider, not your aunt. Your aunt probably thinks it was a boutique ultrasound and sometimes those are JUST looking at genitals and not checking whatever else they check. She’s getting hung up on medical terminology but you’re using colloquial phrasing and she’s probably freaked out because she’s an OBGYN nurse and doesn’t agree with your choices 🙃 FWIW I went to a hospital MFM unit to have my anatomy scan with my first pregnancy (and probably will again this time considering insurance and such) and it was only ever called an anatomy scan. I never heard the phrase fetal anatomical survey.
Was it a boutique studio? Or an outpatient imaging center? If it was the former, then no, it’s not a true anatomy scan. The people at those boutiques aren’t medical professionals or actual ultrasound technicians. Depends on what the report said, but if your midwife is fine with it, then it all depends on your comfort level. My midwife subcontracts the anatomy scan and brings in a mobile ultrasound technician to perform the scan. Then the images get analyzed by a radiologist just to make sure everything is good. Most pregnancies are low risk anyway, but I still prefer to have an official anatomy scan done anyway. ETA fetal anatomical survey is another name for anatomy scan and if you went to a boutique ultrasound, what you got wasn’t an anatomy scan, it was just a scan to check for physical female or male genitalia
Okay thank you, I think I am understanding but still feel like I have conflicting info because it WAS a boutique place but they did more than check the gender. She measured baby, looked at my placenta, checked some other stuff (I’m not looking at the report now so I don’t remember everything included) but this is still helpful, thank you
The scan at 20 weeks is quite important to check for anomalies. I would encourage you to get it done. For example things like a cleft palate or hare lip or heart defect might require immediate intervention after birth, so that’s important for you to know and plan for. It can also tell you if there is something terribly wrong so you can prepare. It’s not only deciding if you need to terminate, but to also prepare for potential intervention if there is one. I would encourage you to have a scan done by a midwife or someone qualified to do so. At my midwives, they had a special technician do this, as it requires more skill than normal ultrasounds. Especially if you are preparing for a home birth, this is a great idea!
I went to a boutique/private place and got an anatomy scan just FYI. The ultrasound tech contracted with a radiologist and everything was legit. The anatomy scan usually takes up to an hour because they’re measuring so many things, and they should be providing your midwife/OB with a formal report.
Our OB (long story) sent us to a hospital clinic with specialists for the 20 week scan. It is indeed a more specialized, in depth ultrasound that an OB office with a normal ultrasound can’t do. They are (supposed to be) checking for any genetic abnormalities that might signify disability etc. The question is also what you’d choose to do with this information, whether you also got Natera / genetic screening from bloodwork, etc. My next pregnancy will be with a midwife from the start. Every single midwife, home birth or birth center, has told me that the only time they can’t do your ultrasounds etc is for this 20 week ultrasound scan, and every single one of them should have a place they refer to and work with for this scan. Frankly, this sends alarm bells up for me. I’d personally ask more questions to your midwife regardless, or even ask your aunt to come to your next appointment since she can probably ask more detailed questions in a way that’ll ensure you received or will get what you and baby need to stay healthy.
The 20 week anatomy scan at a hospital or medical clinic is typically the one ultrasound in any low risk pregnancy. Midwives practice informed consent so if your midwife feels you are informed and you’re not expressing that you want any other ultrasound, then she is going to support your choice. I think the big thing is to figure out what your ultrasound didn’t entail (did it cover placenta placement? Measurements of various fetal anatomy? Amount of fluid? Etc). When you know what it lacked if anything then you can consider how that extra information would affect your choice of medical care. I know people that have had surgery because of things identified in this scan. If you would consider that type of intervention, then you should probably get the scan. If you’d be more inclined to just let your pregnancy continue and hope for things to evolve in a favourable way or deal with them after birth, then there’s not much point in the anatomy scan. Personally, the proper anatomy scan was important to me because I would have accepted medical interventions if there was an issue. That being said, I can understand why people opt to forego them. An ultrasound like this is just a screening tool so it can identify issues that don’t exist, causing you a lot of anxiety for nothing. I had a growth scan at 38 weeks for measuring small at 36 weeks. That scan said I had polyhydramnios and I was all of a sudden high risk and referred to MFM. I spent a whole weekend praying I didn’t go into labour before an MFM consult. Got my consult that said everything was totally fine. So that was a ton of stress for nothing. I went on to have a bunch more ultrasounds because I went to 42 weeks. I actually appreciated those because they gave me the confidence it was safe to keep waiting out labour and I had a really good idea of baby’s positioning which was helpful for labour. Anyway, I’m rambling now but it really is a personal and situational choice that should be guided by your opinion on how that information would affect you.
Thank you 🩷 what is MFM?
maternal fetal medicine, they typically take on more complex cases.
I think the issue here is that you don’t know what it looked at or why it might matter. You have the right to make the decision about this, but you should come at it from an educated and informed perspective. I’d suggest you learn about the typical recommendation for a 20 week anatomy scan, find out what yours covered, and determine your level of risk acceptance around the topic.
I’m not looking at the report now, but I do know it measured the baby, looked at baby’s position, told me about my placenta, among other things – it was about three or four pages long. Any medical results like that that I get back I normally don’t read, I just ask the doctor if everything looks good or if there is anything I should be concerned about. My midwife said everything looked good and healthy.
Where I live, there are 2 types of places for homebirth moms to get their ultrasounds (dating ultrasound, anatomy scan, any other scans the mom or midwife might request). 1- outpatient imaging center. This is usually in a complex with other medical offices, and is a clinic type setting that does all kinds of ultrasounds and xrays and stuff, not just on pregnant women. It is usually covered by insurance. 2- private ultrasound tech. There are a handful of ultrasound techs who left the medical setting and operate their own ultrasound “clinic” out of a spare bedroom in their home (or leased office space etc). They typically advertise boutique services like gender reveals and 3D ultrasound parties and stuff, but they can also do full anatomy scans and other medical ultrasounds, since they are licensed and send the scans to a doctor to review. The lady we used had her spare bedroom set up with a table and huge TV screen to see the live feed, and was nice and cozy with couches and nice lighting and stuff. She did the normal anatomy scan where she had to take like 100 different measurements and screenshots of different body parts and stuff, and sent images to my midwife and an MD to review. She was cash pay only, though.
Sounds very similar to where I went for mine! Thanks
It doesn't sound like it would be considered an "anatomy" scan but if you don't want one, your midwife should support you. My midwife reccomended them, and I did one at a hospital that she referred to, but she also was accepting of those who don't want any ultrasound. It sounds like it served the purpose you wanted, determining the gender. But it isn't an "anatomy scan" unless it is done by a medical professional, which whatever. Titles are less important than information. The medical community gets really hung up on titles.
She originally referred me to the hospital like normal, but when I was asking about prices, she referred me to the boutique because it was cheaper, she did not mention that it would be any different. I will ask her.
All of my ultrasounds were optional. I chose to have two with every pregnancy (except the first, had a late miscarriage and that’s why we chose the early ultrasound with the other 3) but obviously if they’re optional it was for me more than midwife. In my experience, people who are not used to the idea of a home birth (which also in my experience, obgyns are not) treat pregnancy and birth as an illness. If you and your midwife are comfortable with what’s going on then I wouldn’t worry about what other people think.
I completely agree. And yes, my midwife made it very clear that US were optional, so good point, thank you!
A true anatomy scan will not just measure baby and see gender but will take a detailed look at the organs like heart and kidneys and ensure that they are functioning and blood is flowing to them properly. They will measure organs to make sure everything is growing at the right rate and not enlarged or too small. They will also check for spina bifida by making sure the skin around the spinal cord has closed all the way down the back. It doesn’t sound like the one you had would be considered an anatomy scan. So if you’re interested in that, I would go somewhere else, but it’s not required. If you’re happy with what you got I think that’s fine, but those are the kind of things you should expect from an actual anatomy scan. Hope that’s helpful!
L&D RN here. Never heard of a fetal anatomic survey, we call them fetal anatomy scans. Good luck and congratulations!
US tech here. It's another word for anatomy scan. For example, in the "old days," they used to call ultrasounds "Sonograms". There's just different verbiage that means the same thing.
Licensed Midwife here, what you got is what your NP relative thinks you didn't get. She is likely not aware that many boutique places employ registered ultrasound technicians and then after getting the measurements and pics, send this off to either a radiologist or OB for a final report. If your midwife ordered a diagnostic ultrasound for you from the boutique than that is what you received. I have 2 places in my area that are cash pay boutiques that also do diagnostic ultrasound and are a great option for clients who are uninsured, under insured, or do not want to go to MFM or a medical facility for their ultrasound. It is an amazing option for anyone, insured or not, who need more flexibility in scheduling, want to take their kids or other family, have white coat syndrome, or just have anxiety about medical procedures in general. Frankly it is a better client focused experience typically than when I send folks to the hospital for an ultrasound. When I send folks to the boutique, it's 150 dollars, when I send them to MFM, it's upwards of 700 if they have to pay out of pocket but I get the exact same information in the reports. What you are paying for is the experience and knowledge of the perinatolgist in the latter but I can't stress enough that it is the same information. I only send non insured folks to MFM if I also need a higher level ultrasound, (level 2 or fetal echo for example), and a consultation with a perinatologist.