A prenatal or pregnancy ultrasound uses sound waves to create a picture of your baby on a screen. Pregnancy care providers use it to check on the health of your baby and detect certain pregnancy complications. Most people have two ultrasounds during pregnancy, but you may have more if your provider feels it’s medically necessary.
A prenatal ultrasound (or sonogram) is a test during pregnancy that checks on the health and development of your baby. An obstetrician, nurse midwife or ultrasound technician (sonographer) performs ultrasounds during pregnancy for many reasons. Sometimes ultrasounds occur to check on your baby and make sure they’re growing properly. Other times your pregnancy care provider orders an ultrasound after they detect a problem.
During an ultrasound, sound waves are sent through your abdomen or vagina by a device called a transducer. The sound waves bounce off structures inside your body, including your baby and your reproductive organs. Then, the sound waves transform into images that your provider can see on a screen. It doesn’t use radiation, like X-rays, to see your baby.
Even though prenatal ultrasounds are safe, you should only have them when it’s medically necessary. If there’s no reason for an ultrasound (for example, if you just want to see your baby), your insurance company might not pay for it.
Prenatal ultrasounds may be called fetal ultrasounds or pregnancy ultrasounds. Your provider will talk to you about when you can expect ultrasounds during pregnancy based on your health history.
The two main types of pregnancy ultrasound are transvaginal ultrasound and abdominal ultrasound. Both use the same technology to produce images of your baby. Your pregnancy care provider performs a transvaginal ultrasound by placing a wand-like device inside your vagina. They perform an abdominal ultrasound by placing a device on the skin of your belly.
Transvaginal ultrasound: During a transvaginal ultrasound, your pregnancy care provider places a device inside your vaginal canal (similar to how you place a tampon). In early pregnancy, this ultrasound helps to detect a fetal heartbeat or determine how far along you are in your pregnancy (gestational age). Images from a transvaginal ultrasound are clearer in early pregnancy as compared to abdominal ultrasound
Abdominal ultrasound: Your pregnancy care provider performs an abdominal ultrasound by placing a transducer directly on your skin. Then, they move the transducer around your belly (abdomen) to capture images of your baby. Sometimes slight pressure has to be applied to get the best views. Providers use abdominal ultrasounds after about 12 weeks of pregnancy.
