WHAT IS OBSTETRICAL ULTRASOUND USED FOR?
Most couples want to obtain an ultrasound during a pregnancy, and it is estimated that 80 percent of pregnant women do have an ultrasound in this country. It is fun to see the baby, obtain some photos, and be reassured that the baby looks ok. In a normal pregnancy, however, please understand that an ultrasound is not required. Below is a description of an obstetrical ultrasound in the different parts of pregnancy. Much of this description comes from the website of the Fairbanks Clinic in Alaska. EARLY FIRST TRIMESTER We can first see signs of a pregnancy at about 5.5 weeks, when transvaginal ultrasound shows a gestational sac in the uterus about ΒΌ inch long. Things change daily at this stage of pregnancy. A day or two later the yolk sac appears, and a day or two later the embryo. With the embryo, we see the pulsation of the embryonic heartbeat. Even at this early stage, we can sometimes diagnose a problem. If the embryo’s heart rate is very slow or the yolk sac is excessively large, th
