This study can also show us whether the fetus is growing appropriately and producing enough amniotic fluid. This scan can tell us whether the brain is developed appropriately, whether there is a cleft lip, a cardiac abnormality and of course, the gender of the fetus. Although dopplers are helpful, at 12 weeks, the fetal heart is only 5-6mm in size and can be difficult to find.īetween 17 and 22 weeks, we often do an ultrasound assessment of the fetus to look closely at the anatomy. It is not uncommon for a patient to come in for their 12-week visit and need an ultrasound because the doppler is unable to hear the fetal heartbeat. If a patient is bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy, an ultrasound can help us diagnose whether the bleeding is benign, or whether it is due to a miscarriage or abnormality.
Earlier ultrasounds give us more accurate dates.īecause the fetal heart begins beating by six weeks, an ultrasound can tell us whether a pregnancy is developing appropriately. An accurate gestational age is crucial because decisions about the pregnancy after 20 weeks are determined by the week of gestation. As a woman moves through the stages of pregnancy, ultrasounds provide very important information for assessing the health and developmental progress of the baby.Įarly in the pregnancy, an ultrasound can be used to determine whether a patient is pregnant and get an accurate gestational age. Ultrasonic images are obtained by transmitting sound waves through tissue and collecting the echoes as they return to the transducer. Ultrasound through the stages of pregnancy Now that we have this technology, shouldn’t we be using it all the time? Why not get ultrasounds at every visit? There are questions as to what harm, if any, frequent ultrasounds pose to the health of the child. We can even get three-dimensional images of the growing fetus. In the last 30 years, technology has expanded by leaps and bounds, and now the quality of ultrasound images is excellent. Before ultrasound was in regular use, physicians could only assess the health of a pregnancy with their clinical examination skills, lab tests and a funny looking stethoscope called a fetoscope. While it was invented in 1958, the use of sonographic images of the fetus in utero only became a regular phenomenon in the mid-1980s, when computers were becoming commonplace.
For parents expecting a child, it provides a thrilling glimpse at the child they’re preparing to bring into the world. Ultrasound technology is an amazing tool that gives us the opportunity to see the living fetus.
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