Boston,
The frequency of the fetal ultrasound scans which you have during your pregnancy can vary, due to whether there is some cause for concern or any possible complications. The general rule is 2 or possible 3. You will usually have a fetal ultrasound scan at around 20 weeks of the gestational age of the unborn child, which is when many people choose to find out whether they are expecting a son or a daughter. By 20 weeks you can generally distinguish between the different body parts and features of the child, although sometimes it is still difficult for the untrained eye. If you were to have an ultrasound scan every month, the pictures would clearly show how the unborn child grows and develops throughout that time.
During the first two months, though your hormones are changing and you may begin to feel pregnant, the baby will only measure between 0.1 and 0.2 mm by week four, and by the end of month two your unborn baby becomes an embryo with a heart beat. A fetal ultrasound picture should show that the child measures around 8 – 11mm, but you will find it difficult to see which way up it is. By month three the baby will begin to move around, but you won’t feel anything. It should measure around 90mm long, with a head around half the total size of the body with large, wide open eyes.
The baby should have grown to around 16 cms by month four, and it is sometimes able to detect the gender, although you need to wait longer to be more accurate. The fingers and the toes begin to form by month five, and it may be possible to feel the baby moving around inside you, which should measure around 25cms. An ultrasound picture at five months will certainly look more like a baby! This is when you can often (but not always) reading of the gender of the baby, and the scan which very many expectant parents look forward to.
By the sixth month, although still very early, some babies born at this time have survived, even though they probably weigh only about 600 grams. Over the next few weeks your baby should grow up to around 35 cms and will be running out of room to move around freely. The baby may start to move towards the birth canal ready for the birth. It is sometimes difficult to get a clear ultrasound picture at this time, but if you can it will clearly show the tiny fingers and finger nails. It might even show your baby with a head of hair, although it is also quite usual to have a baby which is completely bald.
Your baby might be born within two weeks either side of the expected due date (determined from an early ultrasound scan!). You will then be able to take plenty of photographs of your newborn child, but hopefully you’ll already have started the family album well before then.
Monitoring Your Babies Development With Fetal Ultrasound Pictures
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