Even then, sonographers often only see a heartbeat in 20 percent of early dating scans. The earliest you can see a heartbeat is at five weeks and two days gestation, says Kinnear. The sonographer may or may not be able to detect a heartbeat, depending on how far along you are, says Wilson. It’s very common for women to have a corpus luteum cyst during the first three months, which forms on the follicle where the egg is released, so they will note any signs of a cyst during this scan. Sonographers look at the size and shape of the yolk sac (it’s an indicator of the baby’s health), which eventually goes away at around 12 weeks. Yolk sacĪt this early stage, the sonographer will be looking for a yolk sac, which is attached to the baby like a balloon to provide nourishment, explains Kinnear. The technician is looking for multiple embryos or sacks to tell if you’re having twins (or more!). (“Higher is better,” says Kinnear.) Number of fetuses ![]() Where the embryo implants is also important as it can be higher or lower in the uterus. If it implants outside of the uterus, this indicates an ectopic pregnancy, which happens when a fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube or somewhere besides the uterus. The technician is looking at whether the embryo implants in the uterus. How many ultrasounds do you get in a typical pregnancy? Location of the embryo What will they be checking at the first ultrasound? HeartbeatĪt six weeks, sonographers may be able to see a heartbeat on the monitor (more on this below). To determine your baby’s gestational age, the sonographer will measure the crown-rump length, which generally indicates the baby’s date of arrival. The sonographer is looking for a few main things in this first scan. What are they looking for during the first ultrasound? Your doctor will continue to use this date as a marker throughout your pregnancy, says Kinnear. At around seven to eight weeks, the sonographer can confirm the gestational age (your due date), plus or minus three days. “Vaginal ultrasound is the best way to do the first-trimester ultrasound,” says Doug Wilson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Calgary in Alberta. Instead, you will have a transvaginal ultrasound, where they insert a tampon-length transducer (ultrasound wand) into the vagina to see the fetus. If your first ultrasound is earlier than seven weeks, the baby is often so small that it’s hard to see with a traditional abdominal ultrasound. (Remember, pregnancy is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period.) What happens at the six-week ultrasound? Generally, if your period is regular and you know the “guesstimated” date of conception, you won’t have your first ultrasound until you are closer to the end of the first trimester, at 11 to 14 weeks. However, if your periods are irregular or you’ve had a history of complications, such as an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, pain, or bleeding, your doctor might send you for an earlier scan, says Susan Kinnear, manager of diagnostic imaging at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre and director at large for Sonography Canada. Your doctor will usually wait until at least six weeks to perform the first ultrasound. When is the first ultrasound during pregnancy? We asked the experts all you need to know about that six-week ultrasound or first ultrasound appointment. It’s exciting and scary, and it’s a relief to find out exactly what’s happening inside your body. ![]() You’ll never forget the first time you see your baby on that glowing black-and-white ultrasound screen.
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