Are you looking forward to your upcoming 20-week ultrasound appointment? If you don’t have yours scheduled yet, there may be locations in your community that offer free ultrasounds. For many people, this is the first time they get to see what their growing baby looks like. This is also an important appointment for the doctor to ensure everything is progressing as expected with both mom and baby. Read on to learn about what to anticipate during this important consultation.
How Does an Ultrasound Work?
If you’ve never had an ultrasound done, you may be curious to know exactly what it is. This form of technology uses sound waves to create a picture of your baby. A technician places a gel-covered transducer gently on your abdomen to relay the picture back to a computer screen. Some providers of pregnancy ultrasound in Bloomsburg just check your pregnancy status, but providers of other more in-depth scans take measurements, see the heartbeat of your baby, and check for abnormalities.
What Measurements are Taken?
The technician spends a large portion of the ultrasound appointment taking measurements of the baby. This process can take some time as they need to find the correct angle to get these measurements. Sometimes the baby isn’t in the best position, and you need to move or walk around to help adjust their view. Some of the measurements taken are of the long bones in both the legs and arms and the circumference of the baby’s head. These measurements are compared to the estimated gestation to determine if the baby is growing as expected. While the technician is looking at your baby’s bones, they also look to check the alignment of the spine and make sure there are no indications of spina bifida.
What Else do They Check on the Baby?
Once measurements are completed, the technician spends some time looking at each organ. They check lung, kidney, liver, stomach and bladder formation to ensure everything is growing without a problem. They also spend a lot of time looking at the development of the heart and analyzing blood flow through the organ. At this point in development, the baby’s heart rate may range between 120 and 180 beats each minute. Finally, the blood flow through the umbilical cord is also checked to make sure the baby is getting adequate oxygen and nutrients, as well as ensuring there is plenty of amniotic fluid.
Does the Ultrasound Check Out Mom’s Health Too?
Ensuring that you are healthy in this pregnancy is also an important part of this scan. The technician checks your uterus, ovaries and cervix, as well as the placenta to make sure you aren’t at risk for preterm labor, placenta previa or any physical concerns that may jeopardize the pregnancy.
Can the Technician Tell if it’s a Boy or Girl?
Knowing the gender of your baby is often the most exciting part for parents. Often times the technician can identify the genitalia of your baby. However, there are times when the baby is laying at a particular angle that makes this impossible to determine. If you don’t want to know if your baby is a girl or boy, let the ultrasound tech know before the scan begins so they don’t accidentally tell you.
I always looked forward to my ultrasounds. It was so exciting and a little worrying to find out all that information.
This is very interesting. I did not know what all they checked. Thank you for all the information.
This was super informative to read. It is so amazing all the things they can see in an ultrasound. That is a great tip at the end of the post to tell the technician first thing if you want to know if it is a boy or a girl so they don’t say it by mistake.