13Prenatal Assessment

prenatal assessment

part of routine used to find conditions that may increase the risk of complications for the mother and fetus

transvaginal / transabdominal ultrasounds

ultrasound < (2)

ultrasound

test that uses soundwaves to examine the fetus

transvaginal ultrasound

ultrasound:

used in early pregnancy

transabdominal ultrasound

ultrasound:

more common

transabdominal ultrasound

ultrasound:

used after 10 weeks of pregnancy (usually 16-20 weeks)

ultrasound

used to check the fetus for defects or problems

ultrasound

test where one can find out how many fetus, fetus' age, position, movement, breathing, heartrate / location of placenta, and amount of amniotic fluid

amniocentesis / chorionic villus sampling

additional ultrasounds if problems were noted < (2)

amniocentesis

procedure: using needle to get small amount of amniotic fluid and cells from the sac to test

chorionic villus sampling

procedure: small sample of cells taken from placenta and tested

amniocentesis / chorionic villus sampling

doing these two procedures will result in a high risk of miscarriage and should not be done routinely