Every woman knows that pregnant women are supposed to have at least one sonogram during their pregnancy. Although some women don’t agree with this it is undeniable that these procedures have a lot of advantages that are important for the health of both the baby and the mother.
What is the pregnancy ultrasound screening for?
At the early stages the main point of the procedure is to check the heartbeat of the baby and to make sure that the woman in question has a uterine pregnancy. The later ultrasounds are meant to monitor the development of the baby, the location of the placenta and of the umbilical cord.
The ultrasound during pregnancy also checks the anatomy and the general health of the little one. This procedure can also be used to measure the length of the placenta if you or your doctor thinks that you may be facing premature labor.
How is the ultrasound while being pregnant done?
For the procedure you will have to lie down and the sonographer will rub some gel on your belly. After this he or she will start moving the transducer around your belly. This emits sound waves that bounce back from the structures, like your baby, and this way you will be able to see the image of the baby on the monitor.
The technology of the ultrasound when being pregnant is something like the Doppler imaging, but that isn’t as sophisticated and the images aren’t that clear either. At the earliest stages it is possible that you will have an internal or transvaginal ultrasound.
In case of this kind of sonography the principle is the same. There is a small and long transducer wand inserted directly into the vagina. This wand is moved around your vagina for the sonographer to get an image of your uterus. This can be used earlier than the regular ultrasound.
When is the ultrasound of pregnant women done?
In the majority of the cases women have at least two ultrasounds during their pregnancy. If your doctor happens to have an ultrasound on wheels it is possible that you will have an ultrasound to confirm your uterine pregnancy. You will have the second ultrasound between weeks 18 and 22.
This pregnant women’s ultrasound is performed by a professional sonographer in a hospital setting. This will be a detailed anatomy ultrasound. It is possible for the future mothers to have additional ultrasounds during their pregnancy. For instance, if you have some spotting, your doctor could perform an ultrasound to make sure that everything is alright.
The future mother’s ultrasound could be performed several times if the mother will have multiples. This is important to make sure that the babies are developing as they should. There are some other tests as well that involve having an ultrasound such as amniocentesis.
The good news is that sonograms can be performed quite fast and they don’t cause any pain or discomfort to the mother or the baby so it is entirely safe.
