Is it ok for an OBGYN to refuse to do a 20wk high pregnancy ultrasound just because "it will put me behind schedule"?

The doctor is not "refusing" to do an ultrasound. If the woman was at the doctor's office just for a routine prenatal check-up and she asked him to do an ultrasound and he said "it will put me behind schedule", he's right -- it would. Ultrasounds take about 40 minutes to complete, and must be scheduled days in advance. If she wants an ultrasound, she needs to ask the doctor to schedule an appointment for one - she can't get walk in and have an ultrasound with no advance warning.

In fact, the doctor himself does not perform the ultrasound. He schedules an appointment with an ultrasound tech (who may not even BE in his office) who will do the actual test. It's all got to be set up in advance.

If she were high risk and needed an ultrasound, it would be a level two ultrasound and would most likely be scheduled at the maternal-fetal medicine center at the hospital, and not at the doctor's office. This can take 30-40 minutes to complete. If she was just wanting an ultrasound out of curiosity, and there was no medical indication, then the doctor was well within her right to refuse. It is really up to your cousin to determine whether she is getting appropriate care overall, and to seek another opinion if she doesn't feel so.

Medically, it is not necessary to determine the baby's sex. Although lots of people want to know, an ultrasound for that is not medically necessary.

No its really not alright. The 20 week scan isn't about dating the pregnancy. Its called the anomaly scan for a reason as its primary purpose is to check the development of the fetus and make sure all its structures are intact and its organs are working. Sexing the baby isn't always done because its not massively accurate but the ultrasound should be done to check the blood flow from the placenta and ensure there are 2 blood vessels there, make sure the bladder and stomach are emptying properly, check the heart for signs of ventricular problems, measure the head, abdomen, and femur, etc.

It is the most in depth scan done in the pregnancy and where I am (UK) every single one of us gets it as it can pick up on development problems that we would have had no indication of otherwise.

ETA - of course no ultrasound is 100% perfect at picking up every issue as technology has its limits. They are however vastly beneficial in picking up major abnormality and not just 'for mom's wish'. Having an anatomical problem doesn't always mean abortion either as it can inform the delivery team if you are going to require extra intervention during birth or if you will need a specialist on the team to support your child's extra needs.

I don't agree with that at all. This doctor should do her job the right way. It's more up to you than it is to the doctor. The 20 week scan's purpose is not to determine sex, but to check the development of the baby, the structure of the uterus and rule out any defects. A major example: gastroschisis. I would not stand for a doctor telling me my baby would be "fine", especially if I'm paying for her prenatal services. I would be livid to have a child born with a serious defect and was denied the ability to have been better prepared. I would demand a scan and throw a major fit until I got one. If she overbooked herself, that's her problem. I had all of my ultrasounds at the doctor's office.

Expecting 3rd

There generally isn't any medically need for an ultrasound. Ultrasounds rarely benefit a pregnancy outcome.

The vast majority of scans are done for mom's wish. There is not one medical reason to "know the sex of baby" before birth.

As for anatomical defects? These are not 100% accurate and do not show all defects. If you would plan to abort a defective fetus, then a scan would a need.

http://www.drdemarco.com/charge/rq134.htm

http://americanpregnancy.org/prenatal-testing/ultr...

I think she should be getting a 20 week scan