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Ahh!!! I know how much you have waited for this moment - weeks that felt like centuries, I am sure
Why can’t we do an ultrasound right away, as soon as you get your first beta?
👉 The reality is that prior to 5 weeks of pregnancy, the ultrasound cannot accurately provide any information about the pregnancy
👉 The pregnancy hormone, HCG, should be approximately 1500 before the ultrasound can detect a gestational sac inside the uterus
The first thing an ultrasound detects in an early pregnancy is the gestational sac at about 5 weeks
At around 6 weeks, we can detect a fetal pole and a yolk sac
Closer to the 7 week mark, an ultrasound can detect a fetal heart and measure the heart beat
At this early gestational age the baby is the size of a cheerio - itty bitty! Within this tiny being, the sonographer has to detect a beating heart and measure it. Once a fetal pole measures 7mm if there is no heartbeat detected then this is strong evidence of a miscarriage
At this early gestational age this is the information we can obtain from an early ultrasound:
🔎 Number of babies in the uterus
🔎 Location of the pregnancy (ie not an ectopic)
🔎 Gestational age based on the size of the fetal pole and gestational sac
🔎 Fetal heart beat
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