N.S. mom calls for better ultrasound access after private clinic reveals twins
Taija Howard wouldn’t know she was carrying twins if she hadn’t paid out-of-pocket for a private ultrasound.
When Howard was about seven or eight weeks into her pregnancy, her family doctor sent a referral to get an ultrasound done at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.
But she never got a call to book an appointment.
A few weeks later, at the end of her first trimester, Howard decided to get an ultrasound done at a private clinic for “peace of mind” ahead of a trip. There, she found out she was having twins.
“Craziest 10 minutes of my life,” she said.
Had she not gotten the private ultrasound done, she wouldn’t have known about the bonus baby until her next OBGYN appointment at 20 weeks – more than four months into the pregnancy.
“So now we get to celebrate and be happy about it, rather than scared or worried about the unknowns,” she said.
Howard, who already has an 18-month-old child, said she had no problems getting hospital ultrasounds for her previous pregnancy.
She’s now preparing to move to a bigger home ahead of the twins’ arrival.
It’s recommended that people receive an ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy – about eight weeks in for the most accuracy, according to Dr. Heather Scott, the head of the IWK Health Centre’s obstetrics division.
This “dating” ultrasound provides an early assessment of the pregnancy, and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada recommends that one be performed for every pregnant person.
But currently, the IWK is behind on doing dating ultrasounds due to a lack of ultrasound sonographers.
“There are some resource issues,” said Dr. Heather Scott, head of the IWK’s division of obstetrics. “A few things have changed over the years that have really placed a lot of
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