My ultrasound scan experience

Ultrasound scan does not use X-rays

Ultrasound pictures are formed using sound waves. Whereas radiography uses Rontgen or X-rays to form a radiograph, ultrasonography uses ultrasound waves to produce a picture known as an ultrasonogram.

Ultrasonography is a technique developed in the 1960s in which ultrasonic sound waves are directed into the body tissues. The sound waves are of extremely high frequency and can therefore not be heard by the naked ear. These waves are produced by an electrically stimulated device called a transducer. As the waves penetrate the body they hit boundaries between various organs. The variation in tissue density between organs causes some of the sound waves to be echoed or reflected back to the transducer. The echoes are subsequently transformed into electrical impulses that are displayed as an image on a screen or monitor. The visual display presents images of the tissues under examination.

Ultrasonography is used widely in obstetrics, the branch of medicine concerned with pregnancy, labour and the six to eight weeks immediately after childbirth. The sound waves used in an ultrasound scan are believed to have no side effects on the mother and baby.

How useful is an ultrasound scan?

Ultrasound scans are used for medical imaging to achieve a variety of diagnostic enquiries. In pregnancy, the scan is used to confirm the existence of a fetus and multiple pregnancy (twins); ectopic pregnancy where the fertilised ovum is embedded in the fallopian tube which leads to tubal abortion and the pregnancy self-terminates in four to ten weeks; determine the gestation (age) of a pregnancy; estimate length, weight and maturity of a fetus; identify fetal abnormalities; and locate the placenta.

Besides the physical features of the fetus, the scan indicates uterine liquor volume and abnormalities due to Rhesus incompatibility, a disorder of the blood. Fetal and uteroplacental (uterus and placenta) blood flow can also be measured.

In the case of an aborted pregnancy, an ultrasound scan examines the uterine contents in cases of complete and incomplete abortion, or dead and degenerate ovum (mole).

Fetal movements such as breathing, eye movements, sucking, swallowing, and even filling and emptying of the fetal stomach and bladder can be observed.

Ultrasonography is also used during several other medical procedures.

Nancy Bartilol                                                                                                                                                                  My expected due date (EDD) is 3 October 2006. I went for an ultrasound when I was 4 months pregnant. Before the scan, the doctor observed that the baby was too big for the number of weeks and suspected that the amniotic fluid in my womb was excessive. After the ultrasound the doctor advised however that I had miscalculated my pregnancy days and the baby was two weeks older than I thought.

In my layman observation an ultrasound scanner is a machine that looks like a computer. There is a small thing attached to it that looks like a mouse. The medical personnel apply some kind of gel on your stomach. Then the ‘mouse’ is placed on your tummy and you can see the baby! You see the way the baby is kicking and even though the images on the computer are black and white you can see the baby, the backbone, feet and the hands.

When I went for my ultrasound I was very nervous. I cried after I saw my baby with both legs, the arms, the head and the backbone. I could even hear the heart beat through a speaker attached to the computer. To me that was overwhelming. I realised more than before that I was carrying someone inside me. The doctor understood about my tears… I just wanted my baby to be fine. I wanted a normal baby and did not want twins.

What I wanted most was to hear the heartbeat and see the backbone. For me the backbone is like the brain of the baby. It determines the structure of the baby. If the backbone is okay I know the baby is fine.

We tried to look for the baby’s sex but we couldn’t identify it at that time because the baby was too small.

I went for the scan alone because my husband was at work. After the scan, I was given the photos of the baby, the measurements of the legs, arms and backbone. I explained all this to my husband and he was very happy.

I am planning to go for another ultrasound scan when I get to eight months. This time I will go with him because he really wants to know the sex of the baby. I want a baby boy while he wants a girl!.

END: PG 3/12