What Your Pregnancy Ultrasound Can Tell You...
What Your Pregnancy Ultrasound Can Tell You…
Ultrasound, also commonly known as a sonogram is a painless diagnostic tool that can assist both you and your physician throughout each stage of your pregnancy. Depending on which trimester you are in, ultrasounds may be performed either vaginally (internally) or in a transabdominal fashion (on top of your belly).
While most people associate ultrasounds with determining the gender of their baby, ultrasounds have more far reaching capabilities than just gender determination.
The main purpose of an ultrasound exam is to determine the overall well-being of your baby by monitoring normal development and growth, screening for problems and abnormalities, and providing or confirming an accurate due date. Ultrasounds can also help to provide assurances to worried mothers by allowing them to see their little bundle of joy’s heartbeat, movement, and maybe even a smile in real time.
Here at Hibiscus Women’s Center we perform ultrasounds in our office. This allows our physicians the ability to review your ultrasound images in a timely fashion. It also allows us to provide better continuity of care. Having an ultrasound suite in our office also allows us, depending on our schedule to perform same-day ultrasounds, thereby easing any worries you may have about the well-being of your baby.
In the first trimester of your pregnancy the main focus of your ultrasound exam is to determine your due date and to make sure your pregnancy is progressing normally. This exam is normally performed between seven and nine weeks and is a transvaginal exam. We will look for a heartbeat, determine the age and therefore the due date of your baby as well as take images of your uterus and ovaries. You will also get your first picture.
In the second trimester of your pregnancy the main focus of your ultrasound exam is to ensure that your baby is healthy and growing appropriately. This exam is normally performed between nineteen and twenty-two weeks and consists of both transabdominal and transvaginal exams. This is the ultrasound exam that most people are familiar with. We will take approximately seventy images of your baby and will look at everything from the brain to the feet and from the placenta to your ovaries. Because there is so much more to see you will get more pictures as well as a CD to take home with you.
Ultrasounds may be ordered by your provider in the third trimester of pregnancy. These exams are usually performed to check on the growth of your baby, the fluid, or the position.
Kelly Jennings
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