Maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialists, who have specialized training in managing high-risk pregnancies, regularly use detailed ultrasound imaging to evaluate the health of your baby and to follow baby’s development throughout the pregnancy. Your pregnancy may be high risk due to either chronic health conditions, exposures to medications, perinatal infections, or due to genetic risk factors.
What Type of Ultrasounds are Performed in Pregnancy?
Ultrasound is a diagnostic imaging technique that uses sound waves to produce visual images of internal structures. A sonogram is an image produced by an ultrasound.
Outside of pregnancy, this technique can be used to evaluate internal organs and image cysts or other conditions affecting organs and tissues, including breasts, kidneys, thyroid glands, and others. Ultrasound guidance is also used as an adjunct tool for guidance of medical procedures.
Throughout the pregnancy, ultrasound technology plays a crucial role in helping your medical team diagnose and manage medical conditions that may be affecting you or the baby. Unlike X-rays or CT imaging, ultrasound does not use radiation, making it a safe and effective imaging method for evaluating fetal growth and well-being.
First Trimester Ultrasounds: Early Insights Into Your Pregnancy
A first-trimester ultrasound is used to confirm or determine the gestational age, or how many weeks the pregnancy has progressed, ensuring that prenatal care is appropriately time. It can also help identify twin gestation and can detect some significant early fetal anatomies.
A nuchal translucency (NT) assessment is typically conduced in the late first trimester as part of screening for chromosomal/genetic conditions and early structural anomalies.
Second and Third Trimester Ultrasounds: Tracking Fetal Development
In the second trimester, typically around 18-20 weeks of pregnancy, an ultrasound is performed to conduct an anatomic survey. This is a detailed evaluation of fetal organs and can detect many structural anomalies such as cardiac, renal, etc. This ultrasound evaluation also includes assessment of fetal growth, amniotic fluid, placenta and the cervix.
If any concerns are identified during this ultrasound, further evaluation may be recommended, and may include further genetic testing and/or follow up ultrasounds to help manage your pregnancy.
Ultrasound evaluations in the third trimester focus on assessment of fetal weight gain (growth ultrasounds) and monitoring of fetal well-being (antenatal surveillance which includes tests such as biophysical profile which is a type of ultrasound and non-stress test (NST) which is monitoring of the fetal heart rate).
Advanced Diagnostic Testing for High-Risk Pregnancies
Ultrasound is used for needle guidance during invasive testing such as chorionic chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis, which are diagnostic procedures that are used to detect chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic conditions.
In cases of polyhydramnios, where there is an excess buildup of amniotic fluid, ultrasound is used to guide amnioreduction. This procedure involves the removal of excess amniotic fluid to alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of complications.
Specialized Monitoring: Twins, Fetal Vessels, and Amniotic Fluid
Ultrasounds are used to monitor the growth, development and well being of each baby in a twin, triplet or other higher-order pregnancies. Ultrasounds can help monitor fetal growth patterns, assess for placental dysfunction, and monitor amniotic fluid levels.
Ultrasounds are indispensable for monitoring complex pregnancies, such as monochorionic twins (twin pregnancies where placenta is shared between two babies). This allows for timely referral for treatment and fetal interventions in cases of Twin Transfusion Syndrome, for example, which poses significant risks to the pregnancy.
Understanding Management of Congenital Fetal Conditions
A fetal anomaly scan, performed as part of the second-trimester evaluation between 18 and 22 weeks, is a critical diagnostic tool for detecting congenital fetal anomalies. This comprehensive examination can identify a variety of findings such as cleft lip or palate, heart defects, neural tube defects, and other abnormalities that may affect the fetus’s development.
Once an anomaly is detected, maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialists and genetic counselors play a key role in further evaluation and management. They help the family and care team determine the most appropriate monitoring and intervention strategies, both before and after delivery, by coordinating additional testing, counseling, and tailored treatment plans. This proactive approach enables informed decision-making and ensures that any necessary interventions are implemented to optimize outcomes for both the mother and the baby.
When to Consult a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
If you are considering becoming pregnant and have a chronic health or genetic condition, history of pregnancy complications or loss, or are age 35 or older, you may wish to schedule a preconception (pre-pregnancy) consultation with an MFM specialist or genetic counselor.
If you are already pregnant, your OB-GYN or other healthcare provider may refer you to a MFM specialist based on conditions specific to your pregnancy that place you in a high-risk category, including a pregnancy with multiple gestations, fetal growth concerns, gestational diabetes, or other complications.
Schedule Your Ultrasound Appointment at Advantia Health
MFM & Genetics of Advantia performs advanced imaging in all trimesters of pregnancy, in singleton or multiple gestations. Contact our office to learn how we can support your care through consultations, ultrasounds and other services tailored to high-risk pregnancies.
Book An Appointment!
If you have been referred by your primary care provider, OB-GYN or other healthcare provider, please call our office to schedule an appointment. Our dedicated team will help you understand what information to provide in advance to ensure you see the care best suited to your condition.