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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
A fetal ultrasound, or sonogram, is an imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of a baby in the uterus.
Fetal ultrasound images can help your health care provider evaluate your baby's growth and development and determine how your pregnancy is progressing. A fetal ultrasound might also give you the chance to study your baby's profile months before delivery. In some cases, fetal ultrasound is used to evaluate possible problems or confirm a diagnosis.
Fetal ultrasound is often done during the first trimester to confirm and date the pregnancy and again during the second trimester — between 18 and 20 weeks — when anatomic details are visible. If your baby's health needs to be monitored more closely, ultrasounds might be repeated throughout the pregnancy.
- Frequently asked questions. Special procedures FAQ025. Ultrasound. American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq025.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20120731T1633444415. Accessed July 31, 2012.
- Shipp TD. Ultrasound examination in obstetrics and gynecology. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Shipp TD. Basic principles and safety of diagnostic ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Sfakianaki AK, et al. Routine prenatal ultrasonography as a screening tool. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 101: Ultrasonography in pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2009;113:451.
- AIUM practice guideline for ultrasonography in reproductive medicine. American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. http://www.aium.org/resources/guidelines/reproductiveMed.pdf. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Avoid fetal "keepsake" images, heartbeat monitors. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095508.htm. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Frequently asked questions. Pregnancy FAQ155. Ectopic pregnancy. American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq155.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20120801T1519144261. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Frequently asked questions. Pregnancy FAQ098. Special tests for monitoring fetal health. American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq098.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20120801T1521295745. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Cope J. Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of fetal cardiac anomalies. http://www.uptodate/index. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Ghidini A. Chorionic villus sampling: Risks, complications, and techniques. www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 1, 2012.
- Ghidini A. Diagnostic amniocentesis. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 3, 2012.
- Gibbs RS, et al. Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008. http://www.danforthsobgyn.com. Accessed Aug. 8, 2012.
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 14, 2012.
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