Who would have thought that sonar and radar used in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s would become a fundamental tool, used throughout pregnancies, to examine the foetus?
Your first ultrasound will be an interesting experience. Your caregiver, or a sonographer, will first apply a special gel to your abdomen to reduce signal loss, apply the probe to your abdomen and move it around to find the best position. Once in place, the transducer then sends and receives ultrasound waves, which is translated into images on the screen. The movement on the screen allows you to see the heartbeat, whereas the freezing of the image allows the sonographer or your caregiver to do various measurements.
Ultrasound has been shown to be safe and is used worldwide. Visit our pregnancy calendar to see more and you can read up on all the tests done with ultrasound in the trimester headings.
