OB ultrasound visit or Specialist ultrasound visit? Help

Hi, Everyone,

I am 21 weeks pregnant with identical twin boys. So far, everything
is fine. I went to the Women institute for seeing specialist to
scan (ultrasound) at 20 weeks. The sprecialist said everything looks good and want to see me every three weeks. But when I went to
my regular OB, my doctor said that the OB office has the same equipment to scan the twins every two weeks and would rather for me to
have ultrasound in their office.

I am little confused. Do I need to do more research as what the
specialist's ultrasound can do that regular OB office cannot?
Or should I just listen to my regular OB Dr and go there every two
weeks instead of going to the specialist.

Do you guys actually do the detailed scanning ultrasound every two weeks after 22 weeks of pregnancy? I guess they are looking for TTTS
signs...

Please help.

Thanks a lot!!
Esha

 

Hi, Everyone,

I am 21 weeks pregnant with identical twin boys. So far, everything
is fine. I went to the Women institute for seeing specialist to
scan (ultrasound) at 20 weeks. The sprecialist said everything looks good and want to see me every three weeks. But when I went to
my regular OB, my doctor said that the OB office has the same equipment to scan the twins every two weeks and would rather for me to
have ultrasound in their office.

I am little confused. Do I need to do more research as what the
specialist's ultrasound can do that regular OB office cannot?
Or should I just listen to my regular OB Dr and go there every two
weeks instead of going to the specialist.

Do you guys actually do the detailed scanning ultrasound every two weeks after 22 weeks of pregnancy? I guess they are looking for TTTS
signs...

Please help.

Thanks a lot!!
Esha

 

Hey Esha,
I had ultrasounds in my reg. OB drs office every 2 weeks after 20 weeks and a 1 every week after 32 weeks. I don't know what the specialist could offer, but I loved getting all the pictures and learning what the est. weight and length was and how they were growing. I say go with your gut. If you think the specialist can offer you something extra go there, if not, I think the reg. OB scan is just fine.

Good Luck!

 

If your ob has the same equiptment to do a level 2 ultrasound every 2 weeks, Id likely take them up though I prefered to see teh specialist (which Im assuming is a perinatologist?). I had a level 2 every 2 weeks after around 20 weeks or so.

 

If you really want to know if the machines are the same, just ask. I think they measure in gigahertz??? Do a little research. Also, remember that you could own the best equipment on the market but you're not trained to use it so it won't do any good. If the OB has the best equipment, it doesn' tmean he/she has the expertise in a twin pregnancy or in looking for signs of TTTS developing.

 

I saw the specialist and regular OB. I got ultrasounds each time. I didn't start seeing the specialist until I wsa 32 weeks though. They measured blood flow and certain things that the regular OBs office didn't do. Although the OB's office did measure bones and give the estimated weight, they also measured amniotic fluid. It just seemed to me that specialist was more concerned about what was going on around the babies than the actual babies. It's your call.
Ask your OB if they would do the cord flow and all that?

 

Thanks for all of your replies.

I will call my specialist office tomorrow and ask a few detailed
questions as what they can do that OB office cannot do like what you guys said - cord flow and blood flow etc...

Thanks! You guys are the best!! I love this website....

Esha

 

If your OB does have a high-grade u/s machine, your best bet would be to get the u/s there every 2 weeks instead of waiting 3 weeks for the specialist. If your twins are possibly sharing a placenta, two week u/s are important so they can catch TTTS if it does occur.

My OB's office just upgraded their u/s machine in the last few weeks and they now have the same equipment as the peri's office downstairs. I had to visit the peri's office 10 weeks ago because they needed a higher level u/s to find this baby's stomach but, if that happened now, I would just get another u/s at my OB.

 

I have ID boys. We did both. We had an u/s every two weeks with our Peri - and a level II ultrasound once a month at the fetal specialist office. The level II was to precisely measure the boys growth and fluid levels while our peri gave a general look at growth/fluid/heartbeats/cervical length....

 

i go to both the OB and the Peri and they each do their own ultrasounds. if you have this option it is what I would definately recommend as it is always better to have 2 sets of eyes looking at something. i may catch something the other doesn't.

 

If I were you, I would stick with the peri... it's not necessarily the equipment, it's the knowledge of what they're looking at. I would definitely go every 2 or 3 weeks like he recommended, just because you mentioned they were looking for TTTS. It can develop really fast, which is why I'm monitored every single week by the peri and every other by my OB. Definitely go to the peri! They know what they're doing! (Not that OBs don't, but peris see that kind of thing all the time. Many OBs never see a TTTS case in their whole career). You want to be in good hands!

 

Hi I'm Ericka, I am also 21 weeks with identical boys! I see the peri every 2-3 weeks and they do the detailed scans. They look at cord blood flow and fluid levels and do all their measurments. This makes sure they are growing at the same rate. I see my regular ob every two weeks and they listen to heartbeats and check fundal height and do urine tests, and check cervix. They don't have the u/s equipment though. Did your regular ob refer you to the specialist? If you have the time and the insurance coverage I would just keep both your appointments. Check with the specialist and ask what they will be doing that your regular doctor won't be doing. I love the reassurance that everything is o.k.(practically every week).

 

I also think it would be wise to see the specialist. You could even ask them if they would "please" consider doing ultrasounds every 2 weeks. If they insist on every 3, which doesn't make too much sense with a monochorionic twin pregnancy, then I would see both the OB and peri.

 

Hi, Good morning! Thanks for all your replies.

I called my regular OB yesterday and they said they have the exact
equipmenet as the specialist office does. Two sonographers actually worked at the Peri's office before so they know.
I will still keep my Jan 31 with the specialist and maybe ask
her some more questions while I am there. The thing about the specialist doctor is that I heard she is a new doctor there.
I don't feel comfortable to see a new doctor but they won't change
to another doctor for me for some reason.
After knowing you guys' experience, i will wait until my next
ultrasound...then make judgement after that.

My regular OB said that all sonographers are certified and they
are all good. So who do you really trust?

Pray everything is going well.....

Thanks all of you!
Esha

 

I do agree that peris have more experience w/risk and look for things- but i think it depends on your particular OB as well. I'm carrying mono/di,and asked about the 4 week lag between u/s; one of my OB's said that TTTS generally didn't develop so quickly, and that they wouldn't be able to get any significant measurement differences in less than 3 or 4 weeks......since this is contrary to what I'm reading here, I'm going to go check.

maybe it's that i'm just 26 weeks, so they wouldn't have been able to do anything before 24 weeks even if there were complications?

i also had to push back one of my sonograms a week as i was out of town, and when i asked my ob yesterday if i should re-schedule all the future ones so they are 4 weeks apart, she said to keep them. Hmmmmm, now I'm confused. Sorry if it seems like i'm hijacking the post!

 

My actual peri does the sonogram...and she's in the big complex by the Woman's Hospital of Texas. The only thing the assistant girl does is tell me to lay on the chair and forget to write A and B on my ultrasound picture(grrrrr).

Doesn't anyone else's peri do the looking themselves?