A medical Ultrasound scan is a noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedure that shows the inside of your body by using high-frequency sound waves to bounce off tissues that differ in reflection properties and create images. This technique can be used to relay essential information about your gynecological health and your growing baby during pregnancy. You may require the technique for various reasons but the Memorial Women’s Specialists team of experts who offer Ultrasound in Memorial City encourage women to undergo the procedure due to the following reasons.
1. To Confirm Pregnancy
Besides taking a home pregnancy test or going for a laboratory blood test, an ultrasound can also be used to confirm pregnancy. Through the images created by this technique, you can tell if you are pregnant or not after the images are examined and interpreted.
2. To Determine the Gestational Age
When pregnant, it is crucial to monitor the progress of the pregnancy, and ultrasound scans can take biometric measurements, which helps determine the gestational age. This is done by assuming that the embryos’ / fetus size remains constant with age.
3. To Monitor the Fetal Heartbeat
If a vagina ultrasound is conducted at around six weeks after you conceived, a fetal heartbeat can be easily detected. However, it can also be assessed better at about seven weeks, with the average heartbeat being between 110 and 160 beats per minute.
4. To Identify Any Multiple Pregnancies
If an ultrasound scan is conducted between the eleventh and the thirteenth week of pregnancy, multiple pregnancies can be confirmed. This is by evaluating the type of placenta present and the type of membranes possessed by the babies. Precise monitoring is highly recommended because if you have twins or triplets, you are at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and anemia.
5. To Examine the Maternal Pelvic Organs and the Placenta
During pregnancy, it is essential to evaluate your ovaries, uterus, and cervix. This can be done through an ultrasound scan. The technique can also evaluate the placenta and diagnose several complications related to the placenta, such as abruption of the placenta, placenta previa, structural defects, and blood flow.
6. To Diagnose Ectopic Pregnancy, Miscarriages, or Intrauterine Death
An ultrasound scan can identify a fertilized egg that attaches itself to another location other than the uterus. This is essential as when the embryo begins to grow, it can cause damage to the location, causing bleeding that can be fatal.
Transvaginal ultrasound detects spontaneous abortion.
The fetus’s death at about the 20th week of gestation can also be detected through an ultrasound scan where the absence of fetal movements or heartbeat is noted.
7. To Monitor the Growth of the Fetus
If the gestation age is estimated accurately, the baby should develop and grow according to a particular timeline. The only way to be sure about this is through an ultrasound scan.
8. To scan for any Structural Anomalies.
This is where the doctor carries out an ultrasound scan to confirm or exclude any fetus’s anatomical defects.
9. To Determine the Sex of the Baby
By the time your pregnancy is 18-20 months old, you can determine the sex of the baby through an ultrasound scan. However, it can be seen at 14 weeks of the pregnancy, and it might not be accurate as it depends on the baby’s position.
10. To Monitor the Volume of The Amniotic Fluid
The doctor can use an ultrasound scan to measure the fluid pockets and calculate the amniotic fluid index. This is crucial as the quantity of the amniotic fluid indicates the health of the baby.
Ultrasound scans are essential during pregnancy as they provide vital information that can promote the health of both the mother and the baby.
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