

It’s often more accurate than measuring from your last menstrual period, because dating from the last menstrual period assumes that every woman has 28-day menstrual cycles, and many do not. If the 12-14 week ultrasound is your first, it will give the most accurate due date compared to later scans. “The earlier you do a scan in pregnancy, the more accuracy it has” for determining your due date, said Dr. The 12-14 week ultrasound scan has four main purposes: determining the due date detecting multiple pregnancies checking basic anatomy and performing a nuchal translucency test, which is a screening test for Down Syndrome and some rarer conditions. This is not necessary for a transvaginal ultrasound or in late second or third trimester.
#Pregnancy sonogram full
You’re usually told to drink water before a first trimester transabdominal ultrasound because a full bladder makes it easier to see structures under or behind the bladder. Joshua Copel, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale, who offers this option. You can ask to insert the transducer yourself if that would make you more comfortable, said Dr. Transvaginal ultrasounds may be necessary in very early pregnancy, to look at the shape of your uterus, if you’re obese or if your medical team has trouble seeing things with a transabdominal ultrasound.

But it’s possible you will need a transvaginal ultrasound, meaning that the transducer is placed inside your vagina.

It’s common to get a transabdominal ultrasound, meaning that the ultrasound wand, or transducer, is pressed up against the abdomen, lubricated with gel. if the result is a blurry picture of the baby’s elbow, as long as your health care provider gets the necessary medical information. Yes, you will get pictures of the baby, but an ultrasound is not primarily a photo shoot. Beryl Benacerraf, professor of radiology and of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. An unaccredited facility “can either miss something or find something that will upset you that’s not really there,” said Dr. Get ultrasounds at an accredited facility, not at an unaccredited place at the mall. Usually an ultrasound technician or your ob-gyn will perform an ultrasound.
