ULTRASOUND

                      Ultrasound is used in electronic, navigational, industrial, and security applications. Ultrasound is a high-frequency sound that you cannot hear, but it can be emitted and detected by special machines.It is also used in medicine to view internal organs of the body.

                  An ultrasound scan is a painless test that uses sound waves to create images of organs and structures inside your body. It is a very commonly used test. As it uses sound waves and not radiation, it is thought to be harmless.  Doppler and duplex scans are used to visualize blood or fluids flowing through the body.

Ultrasound in Pregnancy

Ultrasound comes from a machine that creates an image of the inside of your body. It shows what your baby looks like while still inside your womb (uterus).

Ultrasound can tell you—and your health-care provider—many things about your baby, such as:

• the size of the baby

• how well the baby’s heart works

• how well other organs (such as the spine, brain and kidneys) are growing

• the anticipated date of birth

The moving pictures from the ultrasound machine are like a movie. The pictures appear on a computer screen.

WORKING OF ULTRASOUND

Ultrasound pictures are made from sound waves which are too high pitched to be heard by the human ear. The sound waves travel through your skin and are focused on a certain part of your body by a scanning device called a “transducer.” It picks up the sound waves as they bounce back from organs inside the body.

Ultrasound is different from x-rays because it does not use radiation. This makes it safer for you and your baby. Ultrasound is used in many areas of medicine.

WHY ULTRASOUND

An ultrasound can help to check on many aspects of a healthy pregnancy, such as:

• the number of babies

• whether the baby ’s size is right for his/her age

• how the baby’s internal organs are growing

• whether the placenta (afterbirth) is in the correct place

• whether there are problems with the mother’s uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries

The best time to do this is between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy.

You might be asked to have ultrasound at other times during your pregnancy. Your health-care provider may suggest this:

• to see what position the baby is in

• to check the placenta (afterbirth)

• to view how much fluid is around the baby

• to check the baby’s growth and well-being

• to check for signs of a possible genetic problem

DURING ULTRASOUND

Before you go for an ultrasound, you will get information on how to prepare and where to go. Sometimes, women are told to arrive with a full bladder, but not so full it causes pain. This helps the sound waves travel better through the skin and tissues. You may be asked to change from your own clothing into a medical gown.

The person who does the ultrasound is called an ultrasonographer. Once you are lying down on the examining table, clear gel will be put on your skin. The gel allows the transducer to move easily on your skin and helps the sound waves to transmit into your body. You may feel light pressure on your tummy but no pain. An ultrasound exam takes about 30 minutes. If more tests are needed, it could take longer.

Sometimes, the ultrasound must be done through the vagina (birth passage). A special kind of transducer is placed into your vagina. Most women feel no pain during this type of ultrasound.

BENEFITS OF ULTRASOUND

Ultrasounds provide pregnant women with important medical information. 

Ultrasound must be used carefully to ensure that mothers and their babies benefit from what it offers.

If your health-care provider recommends that you have an ultrasound, make sure you know:

• why it is needed

• the risks that may be involved

• how it will be done

                         For most pregnant women, ultrasound assures them that their baby is healthy and all is well. Sadly, for a few, the ultrasound will find signs that all is not normal. Remember that the screening test only indicates an increased chance for concern and cannot tell you for sure if the baby does have a specific condition.

Ultrasound can detect many, but not all, abnormalities. Finding an abnormality depends on many factors, including the age and position of the baby, as well as the size and type of abnormality.

The clarity of the pictures depends on the ultrasound equipment and how well the ultrasound can pass through the mother’s abdomen. For example, ultrasound will be less clear when the mother’s abdomen is thick or scarred.