Tips for understanding a 4D pregnancy ultrasound

Difference between the different ultrasounds

The major difference between 4D ultrasound and other scans is that it provides live studies of the baby. This gives a great bonding experience with the baby and mother to make her work at taking better care of herself. Siblings and other family members also draw closer together with a 4D pregnancy ultrasound.

3D and 2D ultrasounds use the same machine where 2D shows the baby in layers and 3D, looks at the baby’s surface. However with 4D, motion is added to the images to make the images livelier. This is why 4D is also referred to as 3D live images.

2D ultrasound is used as a diagnostic tool till 20 weeks of pregnancy. 3D shows the outside of the baby and is used for diagnosing some conditions like cleft lip, which is not picked up by 2D images.

Preferable period for a 4D pregnancy scan

4D pregnancy ultrasound is used from 24 to 34 weeks. This is because before the 24th week, the baby is not that developed enough for the 4D to be beneficial as a scan. It is from the 27th to 34th week that the baby develops some fat to resemble an infant that moves around the stomach.

As there is sufficient room in the stomach for the baby to move around, 4D images look great. However after the 34th week, as the baby grows, there is insufficient space for the baby to move around. This is why the images now are not that impressive.

This shows that there should be sufficient room in the stomach for a 4D scan. Besides this, to get great images in a 4D scan, there should be sufficient amniotic fluid to let sound waves travel through the fluid to create clearer images.

Full figured women give better images

Full figured women get better images than a smaller framed woman as there is more space for the sound waves to travel through. Last, but not least, the quality of images of the scan depends on the expertise of the technician and the quality of the equipment being used.

However you have no control in the location of the placenta; if it blocks your baby’s face, the sound waves will not be able to penetrate the placenta. Similarly, if the baby’s position is such that the face gets blocked by the sine, you will get pictures only of the baby’s back of the head.