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In This Section
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Ultrasound
Fetal ultrasound provides you and your doctor with a first glimpse of your
developing baby.
Quick Facts
- A safe, painless and
non-invasive test
- Typically performed
between:
- Dating Ultrasound –
9 weeks of pregnancy
- First Trimester
Screening (optional) – 13 weeks of pregnancy
- Second Trimester
Detailed Anatomic Screening - 19-20 weeks of pregnancy
- Used to confirm a
pregnancy and its location
- Used to determine how
a pregnancy is progressing, the baby's growth rate, age and sex.
- Used to determine
location and development of the placenta
- Identifies possible
fetal abnormalities
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Types of Ultrasounds
- Standard: Directs
high-pitched sounds waves toward the baby, which bounces off tissues,
organs and bones in the mother's body, including those of the baby in
uterus. This creates black and white images on a monitor.
- Advanced or Targeted: Used
to further investigate a suspected abnormality identified by a standard
ultrasound.
- Three-dimensional: Offers
3-D images with a high level of detail.
- Doppler: Measures
slight changes in the frequency of the ultrasound waves as they bounce off
moving objects, such as blood cells.
How To Prepare
- Wear comfortable,
loose-fitting clothing.
- Most likely the test needs to
be done with a full bladder.
- For transvaginal ultrasound
or those in late pregnancy, a full bladder usually isn't necessary.
What To Expect
- The examination usually takes
less than 30 minutes.
- The patient is usually
positioned on an examination table and clear gel is applied to the
abdomen. This improves conduction of sound waves and eliminates air
between the transducer, a small plastic device that sends out sound waves
and records them as they bounce back, and your skin.
- The transducer moves back and
forth over the abdomen, directing sound waves into the uterus and
capturing the reflected sounds waves that are digitally converted
into images.
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