The role of ultrasound in obstetric practice has continually evolved since its introduction more than 40 years ago.
In fact, it is difficult to imagine a modern obstetric practice without access to the information provided by ultrasound in real time.
With this imaging technique, doctors can detect pregnancy as early as 3 weeks after conception, confirm or revise gestational age with reasonable accuracy, diagnose multiple gestation early in pregnancy, confidently diagnose stillbirth at any gestational age, assess fetal well-being, assess amniotic fluid volume, and diagnose a wide variety of fetal malformations.
Advances in ultrasound imaging in the last decade are attributed to both improved image resolution and improved clinical interpretation of ultrasound findings.
It is reassuring to know that in human pregnancy there appear to be no adverse biological effects caused by diagnostic ultrasound. A basic ultrasound should contain a fetal exam, an evaluation of fetal biometry, and an anatomical screening exam.
The survey includes a confirmation of fetal number, viability, position, assessment of amniotic fluid volume, and placental location. When evaluating fetal biometry, the applicable standard fetal measurements, abdominal circumference and femur length, are taken. Fetal weight estimation is a clinically useful parameter calculated from fetal biometric measurements.
Selective ultrasound is a very useful tool to detect structural alterations in the fetus and to be able to act in time to avoid later complications.
El Dr. Daniel García, gynecologist and obstetrician at Ginefem, In this video, he explains when and what selective ultrasound is used for.
