Abdominal ultrasounds are used in pregnancy to check on the baby and potentially detect concerns with the pregnancy. It is a reliable way to check on a baby's gestational age, growth, detect multiple gestations and establish the placental...
Blood clots that form in the uterus are called subchorionic hematomas or subchorionic hemorrhage. These words sound frightening, but they describe a condition that's actually quite common in early pregnancy. Subchorionic hematomas or subchorionic...
Finding out you are pregnant, especially with your first child, can be an exciting time filled with joy, wonder and apprehension. There is so much to learn, so much to do and so much to look forward to. Caring for yourself and ensuring the health...
Grainy images from a prenatal sonogram are often baby's first picture for the baby book. This procedure has become commonplace in modern obstetrical care, with many low risk mothers receiving two or more ultrasounds during pregnancy and high-risk...
There are two ways to perform a prenatal ultrasound. Technicians perform transvaginal ultrasounds by inserting a round wand into the vagina. This method is most common in the first trimester when the date of the mother's last menstrual period is...
How early you can tell the gender of your baby depends on the method of detection you use. You might want to know your baby's gender so that you can choose an appropriate name, or you might need to know if your baby is at increased risk for...
According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the first trimester of pregnancy consists of the 13 weeks after your last menstrual period. Typically, your first prenatal visit will occur between the 8th and 10th week of pregnancy to start your...
A normal pregnancy is counted as 40 weeks, and is counted from day one of the last menstrual period. At the time of a missed period, a woman is considered to be four weeks pregnant. Early signs of pregnancy can only be detected by blood tests or...
Therapeutic ultrasound is a modality commonly used by physical therapists. Ultrasound therapy works by driving sound waves into the tissue to help alleviate pain, inflammation and muscles spasms while increasing range of motion. Therapeutic...
An accurate gestational age gives your prenatal care provider a basis for measuring the baby's development and growth. He is better able to identify problems with your baby's development with this information. Using the date of the last period...
Expecting a baby is exciting for many parents. The thought of either bringing your first child into the world or adding another child to your family can be overwhelming and emotional. With today's technology, it is often possible to determine...
Modern technology allows parents to find out the baby's sex prior to birth. A baby's sex is defined as the 'biological and physiological characteristics' that define a girl or boy, according to the World Health Organization. Most commonly, you can...
Many expectant parents look forward to prenatal appointments that include an ultrasound. Ultrasound technology gives parents a preview of what their unborn child looks like, and can provide assurance that their child is healthy. Ultrasounds can...
Though some people like to be surprised, many couples decide they would like to know the sex of their baby before they make the crucial decisions on what color to paint the nursery or whether they should put little pink dresses or tiny blue sailor...
Ultrasound is commonly used during pregnancy to provide information about the developing baby. During an ultrasound, reflected sound waves are used to form a visual image of the baby in the womb. While several types of ultrasounds are available, a...
Ultrasound pictures are created by bouncing high frequency sound waves off body tissue. A transducer is used to convert energy into sound waves and then record pictures on the ultrasound screen. Ultrasound is often used in pregnancy, not only to...
During pregnancy, you will likely have one or more fetal ultrasounds. Also called a sonogram, a fetal ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to see and create images of the baby. The duration of the ultrasound depends on the type of ultrasound...
When you are pregnant, you may have a number of ultrasounds. During the procedure, the technician or nurse takes a number of different measurements. These measurements are then used by the ultrasound machine's software to compute the age of the...
Spotting during pregnancy is a frightening event for most women, but it doesn't always mean there's something wrong with the pregnancy or that miscarriage is inevitable. Women spot during pregnancy for several reasons. Spotting is most common in...
Fetal hiccups often start early in pregnancy, long before you can feel any fetal movement. Hiccups, a reflex action, occur in one in 50 babies, according to Michelle Murray, PhD, RNC in the book, "Antepartal and Intrapartal Fetal monitoring: Third...
For Women Under 35: Triple Screen--This is a blood test that is done between 15 and 20 weeks. The test screens for Down syndrome and spina bifida, two common birth defects. The test is usually covered by insurance, and the results usually return...
An ultrasound uses a technology called sonography. High-frequency sound waves are sent into the body to produce an imagine of an unborn child, which the radiologist can use to interpret gender. The procedure is non-invasive and there are no known...
The most common genetic disorder, Down syndrome affects every 1 in 800 to 1000 births. The presence of an extra chromosome 21 causes Down syndrome. The chance of having an affected child increases as a women ages, though in most cases, the mother...
Every pregnancy has a risk that the fetus carries a serious genetic defect. Doctors have developed ways to calculate the risk of a serious chromosomal abnormality fairly early in pregnancy. In the first trimester, nuchal translucency, or the...
Ultrasound treatments send vibrations to the cells of the body while converting electrical energy into ultrasonic waves, according to the journal Rehab Management. This complicated and often misunderstood process can be very healthy for...
Hearing a baby's heartbeat during pregnancy can be very exciting and comforting for expecting parents. The heartbeat may be heard as early as nine weeks after the last menstrual period using a piece of equipment known as a doppler. A doppler may...
A fetal ultrasound, also known as a sonogram, is an imaging study that uses high-frequency sound waves to create a picture of the baby inside the uterus, according to MayoClinic.com. Physicians commonly perform an ultrasound in the first trimester...
Once conceived, babies develop inside their mother's womb for as long as 42 weeks, which is known as gestation. Unborn babies have a higher risk of suffering developmental problems when they are one day to about 12 weeks old, the National...
Pregnancy is an exciting phase in a woman’s life. While some of you may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, mood swings and weight gain during pregnancy, which may undermine your excitement, what matters at the end of the...
