One of the most popular ways to assess whether everything is good with a future baby is ultrasound diagnosis. Some women refuse to conduct routine or overtime ultrasound because of the belief that this study can harm an unborn child. In fact, there is no adequate evidence that ultrasound can be harmful to the fetus.
In this article, we will tell you what is the basis of this method of research, and how often you can do ultrasound in pregnancy without harming your future son or daughter.
How is the ultrasound done?
Ultrasound is performed using a special device, the main element of which is a sensor, or a receiver. It has a small plate that deforms under the influence of the signal being applied and emits a very high frequency sound not available to the human hearing system.
It is this sound that passes through the tissues of our body and is reflected from them. The reflected signal is again captured by this plate, which likewise assumes a different shape. In this case, the sound signal, in turn, is converted into an electrical signal. After that, the ultrasound program analyzes the received electrical signal, which is transmitted to the monitor screen in the form of an image.
The frequency of the waves can be adjusted directly during the study. Despite the persistent convictions of some experts that these waves harm the health and life of the crumbs, no studies have confirmed that this is really so.
On the contrary, in most cases, carrying out ultrasonic diagnostics allows early recognition of certain pathologies and diseases, and help the baby in time. That is why you can undergo ultrasound during pregnancy as often as necessary.
How often should I do ultrasound in pregnancy?
In case of a favorable pregnancy, it is recommended to conduct such an investigation once in each trimester, and for this there are quite strict time frames:
- from 11 to 14 weeks;
- between 20 and 24 weeks;
- from 31 to 34 weeks of pregnancy.
However, in the presence of certain pathologies, this study may be required more than once. Under such circumstances, how often the ultrasound is made during pregnancy is determined by the state of health of the future mother and fetus. In particular, the indications for an additional examination on an ultrasound machine may be as follows:
- suspicion of ectopic or frozen pregnancy;
- fading of a fetus in the anamnesis;
- the woman has a child with developmental defects;
- rhesus-conflict of the future mother and fetus;
- late gestosis;
- suspicion of a threat of premature birth or spontaneous abortion;
- multiple pregnancies;
- chronic diseases of the mother or father, which can be inherited;
suspected abruption or placenta previa; - X-ray at an early date or transferred to this period of rubella;
- work of the future mother in harmful working conditions.
Thus, there is no definitive answer to the question of how often it is possible to do ultrasound to pregnant women. However, if such a need exists, this survey can be carried out every week, because its harm is not confirmed by many years of clinical trials, while the benefits in some cases are obvious.