Can I Get a Baby Sonogram at a Hospital

Moms-to-be typically look forward to ultrasounds during pregnancy more than any other prenatal appointment. It'southward easy to see why! It's fun to get a sneak peek of your bundle of joy while your OBGYN looks for specific growth and evolution markers. Many women look forrard to learning their babe's sex as shortly as possible and wait impatiently for their 20-calendar week ultrasound. Others want to be surprised. Whether or not you intend to acquire most your baby's sex ASAP, it's important to go along all your ultrasound appointments.

An ultrasound, also known as a sonogram, is typically performed by an ultrasound technician or sometimes by an OBGYN. It uses sound waves to create an image of the organs within your torso. (These audio waves are not harmful to you or your baby.) Ultrasounds during pregnancy assist doctors diagnose many diseases and weather, even those not related to pregnancy.

This article will encompass why and how ultrasounds are used during your pregnancy, how many ultrasounds to expect while you're pregnant, and what your OBGYN may be looking for at each ultrasound.

Well-nigh pregnant women typically only get two ultrasounds, one at the showtime of pregnancy and one nigh halfway through. Other women may have 3 or more than ultrasounds done depending on a number of factors.

Your Beginning Ultrasound

Your first ultrasound is called the "dating" or "viability" ultrasound. Information technology'south typically done between 7 and eight weeks to verify your due date, to look for a fetal heartbeat, and to measure the length of the baby from "crown to rump." At this ultrasound, you'll besides learn whether y'all're having ane baby, twins, or more! Y'all may even get to meet or hear your infant's heartbeat during this appointment.

If yous accept irregular periods, or didn't have a period after coming off nascency command, this ultrasound will exist especially helpful in determining a more accurate due date. Your due date is important because it helps your doctor know whether your baby's development is on track each month.

We'll perform this ultrasound at our Madison Women'southward Health clinic.

What to Await at Your Outset Ultrasound

When you lot're but 7 or eight weeks pregnant, your fetus is only most ii centimeters long. In gild to get a shut enough view of your uterus and fetus, the dating ultrasound is done transvaginally. This means the ultrasound is washed internally, literally "through the vagina." A transvaginal ultrasound tin be a picayune uncomfortable, just information technology is not painful. Most would say it feels less invasive than a gynecological exam that uses a speculum.

To perform this ultrasound, your OBGYN or ultrasound tech volition gently insert a narrow ultrasound wand but within your vagina. The transvaginal ultrasound wand is also called a transducer. It's near 3 centimeters around, a little larger than a tampon. It will exist covered by a condom and lubricant. The wand will not reach your cervix and is safe for your baby.

Y'all may exist asked to arrive at your outset ultrasound with a full float. Having a fuller float helps to put your uterus in a ameliorate position for the ultrasound.

What Your Doctor is Looking for at Your Showtime Ultrasound

Viability of pregnancy
Fetal heartbeat
Fetal size
Single or multiple pregnancy

Genetic Screening Ultrasound

If y'all choose to have prenatal genetic testing done, y'all'll have your next ultrasound at 12 to 13 weeks gestation. This ultrasound is also called nuchal translucency screening. It'south offered to everyone and is covered by most insurance plans. This genetic screening ultrasound is optional.

During this ultrasound, your doctor will await for indicators of chromosomal disorders. Chromosomal disorders mean that the baby received an extra chromosome at formulation and could have moderate to extreme physical or mental challenges. These disorders include:

Trisomy 21, known equally Down's syndrome
Trisomy 13
Trisomy 18

Read more nearly carrier screening and prenatal genetic testing.

What Your Doc is Looking for at the Genetic Screening Ultrasound

This ultrasound volition be an anatomical browse. Your doctor will expect to see if all four limbs are present. They will besides look for basic structures in the brain, the stomach, the bladder, the nasal bone, and last but not to the lowest degree, something called nuchal translucency. Nuchal translucency is a fluid sack at the back of the baby'south neck that is filled with lymphatic fluid. There are correlations between the size of that sack of fluid and the likelihood that the fetus could be affected by a major chromosomal disorder.

After the ultrasound has been performed, your OBGYN volition translate the results and share the information with you. You may besides come across with a genetic counselor who could recommend having additional tests done to verify the ultrasound results.

Keep in heed that ultrasound screenings for other genetic disorders or anatomic abnormalities become more accurate further into the pregnancy.

Nosotros'll perform this ultrasound at the Madison Women's Health dispensary.

Should you Go a Genetic Screening Ultrasound?

In that location'south no right or incorrect answer to this question. Ultimately, the decision is up to you. Hither are some good questions to ask yourself every bit you lot decide whether to have the genetic screening:

Is at that place a family unit history of these genetic birth disorders?
Would I terminate my pregnancy if in that location was a chance of Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, or other genetic disorder?
Would knowing about my pregnancy'due south take chances of genetic defect brand it easier to emotionally or physically prepare for a baby with a nativity defect?
Would information technology be easier for me to cope with and enjoy pregnancy if I focus on the more likely positive outcome rather than the take chances of birth defects?

Whether you choose to accept genetic screening washed at this time is entirely your decision. Some women prefer to have as much information as possible as early as possible, while other women do not. If you're even so uncertain, you lot can hash out the pros and cons with your OBGYN.

Basic Anatomy Scan Ultrasound

This is the ultrasound that people look frontward to the most! The full anatomy ultrasound is typically performed at about 20 weeks, or 5 months. As the proper noun implies, this ultrasound will wait at all the baby's organ systems to make sure they're present, are a normal size and shape, and are in the right location.

What to Wait at a Full Anatomy Scan Ultrasound

The full anatomy scan is a transabdominal ultrasound. It uses a transducer that looks a lot like a store checkout scanner. The ultrasound technician will put warm ultrasound gel on your stomach and and so slide the transducer in the gel effectually your tum. The gel helps the sound waves travel through your skin.

Tip: Come up to your appointment with a relatively full float. This will brand it easier for your ultrasound technician to get improve images of your baby.

Because in that location are so many things to look for, this ultrasound volition have at least 45 minutes—if your little one cooperates! If y'all've got an extra squirmy infant who is "camera shy," it could take a few hours to go all the images that we demand. Don't worry, nosotros have a lot of tricks to encourage your baby to change positions—everything from asking you to lay on ane side and then the other, elimination your float or filling information technology, peradventure even walking around. We'll do whatever it takes to get the images we need to track your baby's growth and development.

What Your OBGYN is Looking for at a Total Anatomy Scan

During the full anatomy, 20-week ultrasound, you can detect out if your babe is male person or female person. If yous desire the sex activity to be a surprise, be sure to tell your technician know ahead of fourth dimension so they don't accidentally let it slip. When the scan is complete, Meriter will even transport you lot a link to view some fun photos of your babe!

Your ultrasound technician volition capture a big number images and measurements:

limbs: arms, legs, anxiety, easily
torso: chest, heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder, diaphragm, genitals
head and face
spine
umbilical string
corporeality of amniotic fluid
location, size, and shape of your placenta
length of your neck

After your ultrasound technician has captured all these images and measurements, your OBGYN will review the pictures and look for abnormalities such as built heart defects or crack lip or palate. They'll discuss their findings with you and assist you understand what yous're looking at in the unlike images.

If everything looks normal and at that place are no other issues during your pregnancy, the next time you'll see your babe is when he or she is in your arms! In the meantime, you tin enjoy those 2D or 3D photos of your baby!

This ultrasound volition be performed at UnityPoint Health – Meriter Infirmary Center for Perinatal Care.

"Extra" Ultrasounds

Sometimes, women need boosted ultrasounds during pregnancy. Your OBGYN may ask you to come up in for additional ultrasounds to bank check your:

Cervical length: if your cervix is shorter than expected, you may need to take your cervix checked regularly to exist sure it stays closed and so that you can maintain your pregnancy. If the cervix continues to shorten or thin, yous may need a cerclage to help strengthen information technology until information technology's time to evangelize your baby. Cervical length ultrasounds occur at sixteen, 18, xx and 22 weeks and are done transvaginally.
Placental location and size: if your placenta is too minor, if it is in an abnormal location or if it is an abnormal shape, then we volition need to monitor it and the growth of your baby with regular ultrasounds. Your placenta is responsible for passing blood and nutrients to your babe, so it'due south important thrat information technology is growing correctly.

You may need growth ultrasounds if you accept:

hypertension
diabetes
high BMI (body mass alphabetize) going into pregnancy
preeclampsia
indicators that your placenta or uterus is non growing appropriately

Sometimes, growth ultrasounds are needed to check that your baby'south growth is continuing forth the growth bend. They're done at 28, 32, and 36 weeks. Ane mode doctors estimate whether your baby is growing as expected is past measuring your fundal height. Fundal pinnacle is the number of centimeters from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus. This measurement typically increases near i cm each calendar week. If your uterus has not grown appropriately in the last month, your OBGYN will surmise that your babe is likewise not growing and will desire to perform monthly growth ultrasounds.

What to Expect at a Growth Ultrasound

These ultrasounds take less fourth dimension than the full basic anatomy ultrasound because at that place are fewer measurements required. The ultrasound technician will measure the infant'due south head circumference, bi-parietal diameter, intestinal circumference, and femur length.

What Your OBGYN is Looking for at Growth Ultrasounds

Your OBGYN is looking to see if your babe is staying on its growth bend. Nosotros volition likewise utilise the measurements to judge your baby'south weight. A large or extra large baby isn't typically concerning. An extra-modest babe or a baby who does not grow co-ordinate to their growth curve could mean that the babe is not getting plenty nourishment through the placenta and may need to exist delivered early.

2nd, 3D, and 4D Ultrasounds

2nd ultrasounds are the black and white images that yous're probably used to seeing. To an untrained eye, they tin can look pretty fuzzy or obscure. However, they give the best definition of the structures of your growing peanut and are considered the "aureate standard" of diagnostic imaging.

3D images are especially popular among parents-to-be who want to savor those cute baby pictures fifty-fifty before the baby is built-in! These pictures show facial features and look much more than baby-like than the kind of obscure 2D images. 3D ultrasounds have usefulness beyond the cuteness factor, however! In the instance of abnormalities of the spine or palate, 3D ultrasounds tin can aid your OBGYN become a meliorate idea of the severity.

4D images are like a 3D image, but show the baby moving around. They're like getting to run into a live activity video of your footling one. These are less unremarkably done because they don't actually aid with diagnoses. Depending on which perinatal center you go to, you might receive a link to view your ultrasound images or videos online.

While there are some stand-alone ultrasound centers offering to tell y'all your baby's sex early or to requite you keepsake 3D or 4D images, these aren't necessary and are rarely covered by insurance. Yous'll find out everything yous need to know during your appointments at the perinatal center — and those appointments will be covered past your insurance.

The all-time identify to have an ultrasound performed is e'er at a dispensary, where you will take access to a physician who has been trained in interpreting the images. At Madison Women'south Health, nosotros're happy to print off pictures for you to put in your baby'due south scrapbook — or anywhere else y'all'd like to brandish those "coming shortly" photos.

Final Thoughts

Ultrasounds during pregnancy are a fascinating way to become a glimpse of your developing baby. Don't be afraid to enquire your OBGYN for more than details about genetic screening as yous determine whether that is something y'all want done. And make sure you've set aside a adept amount of time for your ultrasounds — especially the all-of import total anatomy browse!

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Dr. Beth Wiedel has been providing healthcare to women in Madison since 2002 and is a founding partner of Madison Women'south Health. She shares the vision of all the partners of being a strong healthcare abet for her patients, emphasizing pity and communication throughout her practice.

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Source: https://madisonwomenshealth.com/pregnancy/ultrasounds-during-pregnancy-what-you-need-to-know/