Women’s health has begun taking precedence and getting extra care, especially when it involves their reproductive health. This healthcare encourages more women to understand their bodies better as they prepare to become parents. This healthcare begins well before pregnancy and continues during. This period involves various tests, such as a pregnancy ultrasound Newport Beach. Pregnancy ultrasounds are vital, and what they entail is highlighted further below.
What is a Pregnancy Ultrasound?
This is an operation involving the use of high-frequency soundwaves to view the woman’s reproductive system and the growing baby. Each pregnancy is different, meaning they all require different amounts of ultrasounds.
The ultrasound assists in observing standard fetal growth and looking for potential issues. Other than the normal ultrasound, more innovative ultrasounds like 4-D and echocardiography of the fetus involve checking out its heart.
There are multiple reasons for getting an ultrasound when pregnant. Your physician may also request additional ultrasounds if they found an issue during a blood test or ultrasound. When parents want to know the sex of the incoming baby, an ultrasound can be used nonmedically to create an image for the parents in which the gender is determined.
Most medical professionals discourage using ultrasounds with no medical reason behind it despite the operation being safe for the child and mother.
During Your 1st Trimester of Pregnancy
This is between the start of pregnancy to the twelfth week; ultrasounds may assist to:
- Observe the heartbeat of the fetus
- Confirm pregnancy
- Look for multiple pregnancies
- Check the age of the incoming child while estimating when it may come
- Identify ectopic pregnancy
- Check the woman’s uterus, ovaries, and other reproductive organs
During Your 2nd and 3rd Trimesters
This s between the twelfth and fortieth week, and an ultrasound can be performed to:
- Identify the child’s sex
- Check the fetus’s position and development
- Observe the placenta to identify issues like placental abruption or placenta previa
- Check for multiple pregnancies
- Look for congenital disabilities
- Identify characteristics of Down’s syndrome
- Check levels of amniotic fluid
- Look for blood flow issues or structural abnormalities in the fetus
- Identify issues with the uterus or ovaries like pregnancy tumors
- Guide certain tests like amniocentesis
- Measure how long the cervix is
- Identify an intrauterine death
Types of Pregnancy Ultrasounds
These diverse techniques include:
3-D Ultrasound
This test allows observation of the depth, width, and height of organs and the fetus helpful in detecting issues during pregnancies.
Transvaginal Ultrasound
This test involves putting a tiny probe into the vagina to take clearer images during early pregnancy.
4-D Ultrasound
This one produces a moving video of your growing fetus with better shadows and highlights.
Fetal Echocardiography
Suspected cases of congenital disabilities of the heart may require this test. This is a more comprehensive ultrasound with special attention to the heart’s development and functioning.
Pregnancy should be approached with caution as it involves life and death situations. Special attention is given to pregnant women in all corners of the world to the significant job they have. Pregnancy ultrasounds come in handy in monitoring them and their fetus development. For inquiries about pregnancy ultrasounds, call our offices in Newport Beach, CA.
