Rough Ultrasound Tech - Need Advice!

Hi all! I’m currently 24w pregnant and am being seen by MFM once a month due to GD and pre-diabetes. My tech today was extremely rough. I’m a little overweight, so I know that it’s normal to expect some pressure. It’s also my second pregnancy, and I’ve dealt with it before, nbd. But today was something else. She immediately came in ROUGH and then couldn’t get the heart views she wanted, so she started using the wand to stab at my stomach to make baby move. I’m still sore now, and nauseous from the experience, and it’s been over 9 hours. Is this normal? It’s also a teaching hospital, and a student scanned me for 30 minutes without my consent. Usually they ask, but today they didn’t and I felt so uncomfortable speaking up coupled with everything else. Would it be unreasonable to call and ask not to work with that specific tech for future visits, and to not be scanned by students? I’m a pretty anxious person and don’t know what the right thing is here. Tyia!
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Was the student rough or the supervising US tech? You’re welcome to decline anyone you want— student or employee. I feel like it’s worth calling to let them know that your tech was rough you were sore for X number of hours and you were nauseous. With the techs I have seen there is light pressure and they might have me move and still apply light pressure. Ultimately they’ll just write that they couldn’t see X structures cause of MBH (maternal body habitus). The MFM doc does my scans and she applies more pressure but still mot enough to cause any pain or discomfort that last beyond the ultrasound itself. So yes! Speak up. Pregnant people are vulnerable and you shouldn’t have to be anxious about your scans. Sending big hugs!

I’m also a little overweight. Sometimes it does hurt a little bit but it usually goes away within maybe 30 minutes. I would call and complain and say you do not want to be seen by her again. Do you get an appointment that says the name of the ultrasound tech beforehand? I do and so I always know when it’s the annoying one vs. the nice one that I really like.

Although it sucks to think of it as throwing someone under the bus, I would think that our situations are very delicate and should be presented in a more professional manner. This is a teachable moment for that tech to learn that they need to be a little more sensitive to the patient. I would offer a review and during your next visit, if you’re given her again, ask for someone who understands your situation a bit more. And don’t be scared to speak up if you’re uncomfortable. My techs have always said “please let me know if I’m pressing too hard” which, fortunately I haven’t had to.

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