Your health provider uses an ultrasound to view your internal organs and structures. Mostly, it’s a diagnostic tool, but in some cases, doctors use it for treatment. Ultrasounds are safe and helpful in various medical areas. They use mechanical energy to produce accurate and quality images of your inner body. Usually, you may need an ultrasound for different things, including monitoring your pregnancy. The Silver Spring ultrasound specialists at Capital Women’s Care use ultrasound to diagnose various women’s health issues, including checking the baby’s growth during pregnancy. Keep reading to learn more about ultrasound.
What is an ultrasound?
It is a diagnostic technique that aids your provider to perform the following tasks.
- Analyze your blood flow
- Evaluate structures and organs within the body
- Check your uterus and ovaries
- Identify reproductive issues
- Examine lumps in the breast
- Treat specific gynecological conditions
- Examine the baby during pregnancy
Your provider uses ultrasound to ensure your reproductive organs are functioning well and the baby’s health is intact. They may use other surgical procedures alongside ultrasounds. Unlike X-rays which cause radiation exposure, ultrasound is safe without any harmful concerns.
What does an ultrasound involve?
First of all, ultrasounds are painless. They include an entirely comfortable and minimally invasive procedure. It involves your provider placing a transducer on your skin to produce images, which occurs when sound waves bounce off your body tissues.
What are the different types of ultrasounds?
There are various forms of ultrasounds depending on your health condition in question. They include the following.
Transvaginal ultrasound
This type of ultrasound involves your technician inserting the transducer into the vagina to examine the uterus and the ovaries. Your provider performs a transvaginal ultrasound to check the growing fetus during pregnancy.
3D and 4D ultrasounds
These are ultrasounds to evaluate the fetal movements, check the health of the growing fetus, and create images of the baby before delivery.
Therapeutic ultrasounds
Your Capital Women’s Care provider uses therapeutic ultrasounds to perform various procedures and restore your health. They help relieve pain from bone growths, destroy uterine fibroids, break up blood clots, close wounds, and perform ablation procedures.
Therapeutic ultrasounds use high-intensity sound beams targeted to the specific reproductive tissue, without harming the surrounding skin or tissues. Research is underway to identify more potential uses of therapeutic ultrasound.
Fetal echocardiography
It involves using ultrasound waves to analyze the heart function and anatomy of the growing baby.
What does a pregnancy ultrasound involve?
An ultrasound during pregnancy helps monitor the mother and baby’s health. Your provider performs it to achieve the following:
- Confirm your pregnancy
- Determine the length of your pregnancy and the gestational age of the baby
- Observe the baby’s heart rate and movement
- Look for any birth defects in the baby
- Check the baby’s position
- Determine the level of the amniotic fluid
A pregnancy ultrasound also helps determine the sex of the unborn baby. It is essential in enhancing the health of the baby and safe delivery.
Ultrasounds are safe and comfortable and assist your health provider in various medical procedures. Contact Capital Women’s Care to schedule your consultation and learn more about ultrasound.
