Contents:
- Medical Video: Introduction to the interpretation of Abdominal Ultrasound
- All you need to know when reading USG results
- Color
- Orientation
- What can you know from USG results?
- 1. Know the characteristics of your baby
- 2. Knowing the sex of the baby
- 3. Knowing the baby's abnormalities in the womb
Medical Video: Introduction to the interpretation of Abdominal Ultrasound
When visiting a gynecologist, you and your husband will be very happy if you show a picture of your fetus in the womb through ultrasound. The doctor will print the results of the ultrasound and give it to you. Then, you look again and clearly notice the picture of your fetus while guessing what it is doing. However, have you seen it correctly? What do you see? Well, many mothers may still be confused about how to read the results of ultrasound. To find out, let's consider the following review.
All you need to know when reading USG results
Ultrasound or ultrasonography is an important examination done during pregnancy. Through ultrasound, doctors and pregnant women can find out the condition of the fetus in the womb. Not only to see the sex of the baby, but also to see the growth and development of the baby in the womb. To be able to read the results of an ultrasound, you should pay attention to the following points.
READ ALSO: Ultrasound During Pregnancy: What Does it Function and Is it Safe?
Color
When you see the results of an ultrasound, what you see is only black, gray, and a little white. Then, you are guessing which body parts of your baby are. Actually, what is the meaning of each color?
You need to remember:
- Black means fluid
- Gray is a network
- White is bone
The gray color that usually dominates the area around an ultrasound image is your uterine tissue. Then you can see black in it, it is the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby. And, who is in the middle surrounded by black in the picture? Yes, that is your baby. So, now you don't get confused again when you see the results of ultrasound. Now, you can easily find out where your baby is.
Orientation
Well, when you read the results of an ultrasound, don't just pay attention to the color to find out where your baby is and what he is doing. However, also pay attention to the orientation of the image. By knowing the orientation of the image, you can read the results of the ultrasound better.
It is important to see the position of the baby's head, is the baby's head under or in the breech position? To see the baby's head facing right or left, you can look for the baby's spine.
READ ALSO: How Do Genetic Factors Affect the Shape of Your Baby?
What can you know from USG results?
Now, you already know how to read ultrasound results through color and orientation. After that, what information can you get from the results of the ultrasound?
1. Know the characteristics of your baby
At the beginning of your ultrasound (around 6-10 weeks' gestation), you can see your baby is still in the form of a small lump. Then at 12 weeks' gestation, you can begin to see his head. At the age of 20 weeks of pregnancy, you can begin to see the heart of the fetus, eyes, nose, legs, spine, and gender. The baby picture that you can see also depends on the angle of the shot from the ultrasound transducer (a tool used to take ultrasound images).
2. Knowing the sex of the baby
This is usually the thing many couples are waiting for when they do an ultrasound. Yes, knowing the sex of the baby. To find out the sex of the baby, you are usually advised to do an ultrasound at 18-22 weeks of gestation. Until the age of 14 weeks of pregnancy, usually male and female infants cannot be distinguished on ultrasound.
A number of factors also determine the ease of knowing the sex of the baby, such as the position of the baby and the age of the baby. Sometimes it is rather difficult for doctors to determine the sex of the baby because the baby's feet are blocking. You have to wait for the baby in the right position to find out the sex.
For knowing a baby boy, doctors will usually look for signs such as turtles, the tip of the penis usually peeking from behind the testicles. Whereas for know baby girl, usually the doctor will look for a sign like a hamburger because the clitoris is between the lips of the vagina (labia).
READ ALSO: 6 Factors Suspected of Determining Infant Gender
Determining the sex of the baby through ultrasound has high accuracy. However, mistakes in determining gender can also occur. This depends on the clarity of the picture and the doctor's ability to interpret the image. Indeed, ultrasound is not specifically designed to determine the sex of the baby. Primarily, ultrasound is intended for medical purposes, such as to determine the development of the baby in the womb, the condition of the placenta, and the condition of the baby's umbilical cord.
3. Knowing the baby's abnormalities in the womb
When doing an ultrasound, the doctor can take the size of the fetus so that the doctor knows whether your prospective baby is growing well in the womb. Through an ultrasound, the doctor can also see if your baby has structural abnormalities, such as congenital heart defects, cleft lip and palate, spina bifida, signs of Down syndrome, and others. Placental abnormalities can also be found through ultrasound. If abnormalities are found in your fetus, your doctor may advise you to do further tests, such as amniocentesis and CVS to check for chromosomal abnormalities in infants.
