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Ultrasound tests have no side effects
Sharjah - Ultrasound is a non-invasive, non-radiating radiological investigation that relies on use of sound waves.
As there is no radiation involved, it has been extensively used on pregnant women in the past 60 years, explains Dr Badhri Sivaji, Specialist Radiologist, Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah.
"When these waves are passed into the body by probe, they are absorbed by the tissues and are reflected back as echoes. These echoes are again captured by the probe and are processed by the computer to give real time images," he said.
Current data indicate that there are no confirmed biological effects on patients and their fetuses from the use of diagnostic ultrasound evaluation. Patients with an early pregnancy upto three months should have a full bladder before undergoing this examination.
Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters consisting of approximately three months each. Ultrasound examination in each trimester has its own importance. First ultrasound should be done when a woman has (a positive) urine pregnancy test, at the time of the first missed period.
Transvaginal scans are more sensitive than transabdominal scans in early first trimester problems. Gestational age determination and certain anomalies can be picked up earlier. Gestational age can be assessed by accurate measurements of biparietal diameter, head circumference, femur length and abdominal circumference.
Measurement of heart rate, observing fetal movements, fetal breathing etc. is done to assess the fetal viability. Amniotic fluid is the watery liquid surrounding and cushioning a growing fetus within. Increase or decrease in fluid can be assessed. The part of the fetus which is going to enter the pelvis first is called presentation.
Information from this scan in the first three months is to:
> Confirm pregnancy -This is because during pregnancy Beta HCG hormone levels are increased in urine and sometimes pregnancy may not be the only reason for this increase.
> To see whether the pregnancy is intra or extra uterine (ectopic).
> Number of gestational sacs -single or multiple.
> Viability of the embryo
> Assigning gestational age - this is most accurate in the first trimester
Even though determining the sex of the baby by ultrasound is not a difficult task, some factors making the diagnosis difficult are the baby's intrauterine position at the time of scanning, poor acoustic window and overlapping structures, which could prevent accuracy in sex determination.
The period of gestation at which the most information is available is at 18-20 weeks. The appeal of the obstetric ultrasound examination is that it is a non-invasive safe procedure that has a high degree of patient acceptance and can yield a wealth of information.
news@khaleejtimes.com
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