An ultrasound enables a gynecologist and the pregnant woman to monitor the different stages of pregnancy. Through the ultrasound one can view the most amazing pictures of the baby through the various stages of growth and development. The pregnancy ultrasound is considered to be a vital tool in getting important information regarding the baby. Through the monitoring of the ultrasound, the doctor is able to judge the due date, the placement of the placenta, and other health care assessments. Pregnancy is usually broken up into 3 separate units called trimesters.
This means a single pregnancy term is divided into three phases of pregnancy. A full term of pregnancy will usually last upto 38 to 48 weeks long. Your baby might be born earlier than expected and still be considered full term.
There was a time when premature babies were not expected to live for long; however with today’s technology it has become possible for them to grow up to lead normal healthy lives.
Scans are usually performed throughout the pregnancy; however the first scan is usually performed in the first trimester. The first trimester scans will show the soft markers for any kind of chromosomal abnormalities. Down syndrome can also be detected through ultrasound scans. It might be difficult for a pregnant woman to understand what she is viewing on the screen in the initial stages of pregnancy, until the doctor explains the images on the screen. The physician taking the reflection of ultrasonic waves usually takes measurements and explains to the mother what she is looking at.
During the fifth week of ultrasound scan you should be able to see the gestational sac. In the fifth week the size of the gestational sac appears to be a little larger and the embryo is smaller than the grain of rice. In sixth week the cardiac activity of the embryo can be sensed. The body of the baby will keep progressing in the eighth week; feet, hands and even the fingers can be distinguished. Slowly but steadily the baby’s internal organs are being formed, apart from that, the external features start to become more and more prominent.
You might not undergo an ultrasound scan every week, but that does not necessarily mean you cannot see the images of the baby forming within you. There are plenty of resources from where you can obtain these images. Pregnancy books will usually have vivid pictures of the ultrasound baby pictures of every week. Apart from books you can also search the World Wide Web to locate the kind of pictures you are looking for.
With time you can even sense your baby’s movements within you. The pregnancy ultrasound pictures only help you know that your baby’s doing alright.
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