As part of your routine prenatal care, Dr. McBride recommends
an abdominal ultrasound scan at your eight week and again at your
twenty week visit. Ultrasound scanning is a safe test that uses high-frequency
sound waves that aide in visualizing tissue to provide a picture of
your baby and other structures inside your body. It is not
X-ray radiation and will not harm you or
your baby.
What to expect during the ultrasound test:
Wear your regular clothes to the test. Our Certified Ultrasound
Technologist Lori Williams begins the exam by putting a water based
gel on your abdomen. This enables the transducer probe to glide
smoothly over your skin. When the ultrasound transducer probe is
moved over your abdomen it emits high-frequency sound waves that
pass through the organs and reflect back to a computer monitor.
You will meet with Dr. McBride following the scan to review the
results. Generally we allow 30 minutes for an abdominal ultrasound.
You can drive yourself to the office for this visit and you can
resume normal activities after the scan.
A vaginal ultrasound is often performed in early pregnancy. The
transducer probe is shaped differently for this exam, more like
a narrow tube. Lori will place a cover over the probe and lubricate
the instrument with gel before insertion into the vagina. The test
takes approximately ten minutes and you can resume normal activity
after the scan.
