Types of Scanning During Pregnancy: Find In-depth
Ultrasound scans during pregnancy give you and your doctor accurate and reliable information that can be used to assess and analyze the progress and health of your pregnancy.
Usually, women receive an ultrasound in the second trimester. A first-trimester ultrasound, also known as an early ultrasound, is performed before your 14th week of pregnancy. If you have any medical issues such as obesity and asthma you may require fewer ultrasounds or at different times.
So, continue reading this article to understand more about the different scan types that are necessary throughout our pregnancy.
What Is an Ultrasound Scan?
Pregnancy in its early stages can be unreal. When you can’t see it or feel it moving yet, how do you know the fetus is there? Therefore, the initial ultrasound image may seem significant.
An ultrasound is necessary if you are bleeding or cramping early in pregnancy. Transvaginal ultrasounds can be done later in pregnancy if you have a history of preterm birth to assess the length of your cervix and look for early indicators that you might give birth too soon. You’ll likely have more ultrasounds to monitor the twins’ development if you’re expecting them.
Around week 20 of pregnancy, an ultrasound is often done on every pregnant woman. During this ultrasound, the doctor will confirm that the placenta is healthy and your baby is growing normally in the uterus. Apart from that, the ultrasound also shows the baby’s heartbeat and the movement of its arms, legs, and body.
Before a first trimester transabdominal ultrasound, you are typically advised to drink water since a full bladder makes it easier to identify structures under or behind the bladder. For a transvaginal ultrasound or in the late second or third trimester, this is not required.
Is a Pregnancy Ultrasound Safe?
People often ask if an ultrasound can hurt a woman or child. No, getting an ultrasound won’t harm either you or the unborn child. During an ultrasound scan, the equipment generates a small amount of heat, which is absorbed by the portion of the body being examined.
Body tissues may become heated by ultrasound, and fluids or tissues may develop tiny gas pockets as a result. The risks involved with ultrasound are low when carried out by a medical professional under the proper guidelines.
List of Scans During Pregnancy
You might assume there is only one type of ultrasound scan because that is what you will hear the most about during pregnancy. But there are several kinds of ultrasound scans referred by the best gynecology hospital. Types of Scanning During Pregnancy include the following:
● The Date Estimating Scan
Your baby’s due date can be determined with a sonography scan. The scan is known as a date estimation scan. It takes place between 8 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. This scan is performed to determine your due date. Your baby’s size, position, and several babies are all checked.
● Screening Scan
It is a scan used to detect and classify if your child has any congenital defects or disorders. The screening scan is often done between 10 and 14 weeks into your pregnancy, to check for any anomalies in the growing baby. It typically takes place concurrently with the date estimation scan. A blood test and sonography are both done along with this kind of scan.
● The Scan for Knowing Gender
The majority of it is done around week twenty of your pregnancy. The test is commonly available in the US and Europe, but it has been banned in India and China because some parents misuse the results to have their females aborted. However, the Abeer hospital offers these tests.
● The Anomaly Scan
The purpose of the anomaly scan sonography performed between weeks 18 and 20 of your pregnancy is to check for structural and developmental defects in the growing baby. Additionally, it is used to check for syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV.
● Scans during Third-trimester
The third trimester is a wonderful time to monitor your baby’s development, heart rate, placental activity, and position within the womb.
● 2D scan
The sonography images that are most widely used are those in black and white. It shows your baby’s size, development, heartbeat, gestation, and growth.
● 3D scan
You should get a 3D scan done to acquire a more true picture of your kid. It helps you determine the height, width, and depth of your unborn child and is carried out between weeks 26 and 30 of your pregnancy. You can learn about your baby’s facial features through these scans.
● 4D scan
4D Scan is performed at about week 26 of pregnancy. In place of an image, these scans display a video. They are comparable to a 3D scan in all other respects. In contrast to a 3D scan, it is sharper and more detailed.
● Transvaginal Scans
A transvaginal ultrasound is an imaging procedure that allows your doctor to observe your pelvic cavity and the organs inside your pelvis. Your cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are some of these organs. Abnormal growth or structure in your pelvic region may be visible through a transvaginal ultrasound and could be an indication of a disorder or disease.
Your doctor may recommend the test if you experience pelvic pain or unusual bleeding, or if you want to check out ovarian cysts or tumors, fibroids (uterine muscle tumors), polyps (uterine lining thickening), early pregnancy, infertility, or polyps.
● Echocardiography
It is performed to look for any heart issues, as the name implies. It displays the size, shape, and structure of your baby’s heart.
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It’s essential to monitor your baby’s health, development, and growth. An ultrasound is a reliable and accurate technique to look for any anomalies in the developing baby and make plans following them. The majority of expectant women are likely to undergo only one or two scans. More scans are carried out only when it is necessary.