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When a woman finds out about her pregnancy, she does not stop thinking about her first medical visits and her first ultrasound. Social Security covers at least three pregnancy ultrasounds and where they are mandatory. If the doctor requires it, many more can be done if the pregnancy suffers from some type of risk. However, we will focus on when the first ultrasound is performed and if it is necessary to do it by private or by Social Security.
An ultrasound will provide all the necessary data to certify that the pregnancy is developing in perfect conditions. It will give us that peace of mind and security that everything is going the right way. In addition, the following ultrasounds will give us a further assessment that the growth and development of the baby continues the correct guidelines for your gestational age.
When they do your first ultrasound at Social Security
Social Security makes up three ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy. In the first trimester and coinciding with the 12th week of pregnancy, the first visualization is performed. In week 7 of pregnancy you can already perform an ultrasound or ultrasound, where if it is a special case it could be requested by a private doctor.
In many centers or clinics, the first ultrasound is usually done vaginally, since the embryo is too small to be appreciated by the traditional method. With this first shot you can already observe its growth, the baby's heartbeat and when the next delivery date will be.
What if I opt for an ultrasound well before week 12?
The first ultrasound can be done well before week 12, but it must be done in a private clinic and for a fee. Through this means you can choose to know the same results and with the same professionalism as in Social Security. Some centers even have much more modern technology and the same professional team
What are ultrasounds?
Fetal ultrasound is a technique that used for imaging where sound waves are used that bounce off tissues, liquids and anything solid that is part of the baby. These waves are translated into images and so the doctor can interpret them. From this ultrasound imaging, the growth and development of the baby can be evaluated to better control the pregnancy. What does ultrasound allow us?
- Carry out a control of the pregnancy and observe if the growth and development of the baby are correct.
- If there is a problem, it can be accurately analyzed and a diagnosis can be confirmed.
- It also allows you to do an assessment of what the gestational age is, if the data of the last period coincide with the weeks of pregnancy. In addition, it makes an assessment of the type of placenta and if there is more than one baby in the same pregnancy.
What types of ultrasounds are performed during pregnancy?
There are two main types of fetal ultrasounds:
- abdominal ultrasound, the most common and where to be enhanced with the emission of sound waves on the abdomen and which translates into images. A conductive gel is applied to facilitate the examination much better.
- transvaginal ultrasound, where a transducer is placed inside the vagina to capture images similar to abdominal ultrasound. It is often used in early pregnancy when the other type of ultrasound cannot provide enough information.
Within the group of abdominal ultrasounds there are these other types:
- Doppler ultrasound, which details information about the baby's blood circulation.
- Fetal echocardiography, does not report how the baby's heart is working in detail. It can be used to rule out that there is no heart defect.
- 3D ultrasound, details images with much more clarity and where you can see the baby in more detail.
- specialized ultrasound, is performed when it is suspected that there could be an anomaly in the fetus.
Therefore, Social Security perform a minimum of 3 ultrasounds, one in each trimester. They are the minimum that are determined to ensure that there is a correct monitoring of its development. If you prefer to do some more, you will choose to resort to a private clinic, there are women who choose to do one every month.