Fundamental to follow the development of the baby, identify possible diseases or complications, and observe the health conditions of pregnant women, ultrasound is a seemingly simple examination, but still raises many doubts in future mothers. Obstetrician Alberto D? Auria, Medical Director of Cryopraxis, clarifies the main questions:
1 ? How important is the exam?
Ultrasound is essential because, without it, prenatal follow-up would be partial. It makes it possible to know early on if the pregnancy is in the womb or if it is a pregnancy in the tube, if there is any deformity, such as a hydatidiform mole, or if it is a multiple pregnancy, if there is a detachment of the gestational sac and if embryo has life or not.
2 ? Is it mandatory during pregnancy?
Yes. Ultrasound is an indispensable tool in midwifery today and has helped a lot in diagnosing healthy pregnancy and other complications.
3? When should the exam be first done?
As soon as there is news of possible pregnancy the ultrasound should be done. Recalling that in the gestation of four weeks only the gestational sac appears, with five weeks an outline of the embryo and, at six weeks, already appear the heartbeat of the embryo, which partly reassures the prognosis of pregnancy.
4? How often should it be done during pregnancy?
We can do up to four ultrasounds. The first will be done to know if the pregnancy is inside the uterus or fallopian tubes and if there is a live embryo inside the gestational sac. The second, between eleven and a half weeks and thirteen weeks, which will be the morphological of the first trimester, to study the thickness of the neck of the fetus to then suspect or not a chromosomal disease. The other will be the morphological of the second trimester, made between 19 and 23 weeks. This ultrasound will look for any morphological changes and, when the exam is completed, we will have a safety of 85% of the results.
5? Are there different types of ultrasound?
Yes. 3D and 4D ultrasound have three- and four-dimensional imaging, respectively, and are used for changes where there is a need for intrauterine surgical programming and other complications. Today this feature is also used to show the baby to parents during pregnancy.
There is also the doppler feature, which is used to evaluate blood vessels of the uterus, umbilical artery, fetal cerebral artery. This evaluation is very important, as it may indicate possible complications of pregnancy, such as the well-being of the intrauterine fetus, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, and may also signal the possibility of premature birth. Doppler often helps us decide for a cesarean section when there is major fetal distress.
6? When can you see what gender the baby is?
Doing the ultrasound near 13 weeks of gestation, if the position of the fetus is favorable, sex can already be suspected, but without certainty. At 19 weeks it is possible to visualize the gender of the baby.
7? Are there any contraindications or cases in which it is not recommended to do?
There are no contraindications, since the device uses mechanical waves with speeds above 300m per second, which is why it is even called ultrasound. It is 100% safe for pregnant women and the baby.
8? What diseases can be identified?
Ultrasound can diagnose more than 100 fetal syndromes or other malformations of the heart, kidney, and many others.
9? When can parents hear the baby's heart?
You can hear the fetal heartbeat as early as 11 weeks of gestation by doing the ultrasound that has doppler transformed into sound.
10? Even with ultrasound pointing normal, can the child be born with an unidentified problem?
Yes. Even with the exams pointing everything to normal, there is still a chance of error, which is around 15%.
Ultrasound is part of the prenatal, medical-oriented series of examinations and care that cannot be missed. Therefore, if you find out you are pregnant, be sure to do all the exams indicated and follow medical guidelines.
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