An Insight Into Pregnancy Ultrasounds

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Pregnancy ultrasounds were introduced in the late 1950s and since then it has been a very important diagnostic tool for pregnancy. These ultrasounds are nothing but the use of ultrasound scanning in pregnancy. The purpose of these ultrasounds is to diagnose the fetus in the pregnant mother's womb. These ultrasounds also play an important role in detecting the potential defects of the upcoming baby before birth.

Are Pregnancy Ultrasounds Safe?

Unlike radiography that uses ionizing radiation, the pregnancy ultrasound diagnostic tool has been approved by various researches and Pregnancy magazines as completely safe both for the unborn child as well as the mother.

How They Work?

These ultrasounds use real-time scanners. These scanners build a continuous graph the moving fetus, which can be seen on the monitor screen attached with the system. In order to see these pictures clearly very high frequency sound waves – somewhere between 3.5 to 7.0 megahertz - are used. There is a transducer that releases these waves. This transducer is placed in contact with the abdomen of the pregnant mother and then the specialist moves it around to observe any specific aspect of the uterus. The fetus is scanned with the recurring ultrasound beams and then they are reflected back upon the transducer. The information thus accumulated from various such reflections is then transformed into a picture on the monitor screen.

Detecting The Sex Of The Baby

The pregnancy ultrasounds are also used to detect the sex of the unborn baby. However, the sex detection is possible only at least after 16 weeks. However, this will also depend upon the aptitude of the operator and the sonographic machine.

Other Detections

The pregnancy ultrasounds create images on the monitor screen, which can detect lot many things. For example, the specialist can determine and make the measurements correctly regarding the movements such as fetal heartbeat and the malformations in the fetus. These things are detected on the basis of the images displayed on the monitor screen attached with this diagnostic tool. Structural abnormalities in the unborn baby can also be determined through these tests. However, in order to detect any potential Structural abnormalities in the fetus, the specialist must perform the ultrasound scan at least before 20 weeks.

Full Bladder Ultrasound

Sometimes, it becomes essential to perform a full bladder ultrasound, especially when the specialist performs the abdominal scanning to detect Early pregnancy symptoms. The process of this full bladder ultrasound is completely safe and secure. There is no pain and in fact, it is a completely hassle-free procedure. However, the pressure on the full bladder may cause some uncomfortable sensations. The non-staining conducting gel may feel a little bit damp and cold. Apart from these little side effects the ultrasound rays does not cause any pain or problem.

The ultrasound scanning is not only used to watch the fetus as it grows, but also to check for multiple births. Being pregnant is one of the highly exciting times of any woman's life. Often the arrival of the baby is extremely anticipated. Pregnant woman wants to praise the little beauty that is growing within and show the pictures to family and friends. With the technology of the pregnancy ultrasounds, now women no longer have to wait the full nine months to see their baby.