Prenatal Sonography

According to the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics, “The use of prenatal sonography (PSG) is rapidly increasing as more pregnant women are even requesting studies. Most obstetric ultrasounds occur in general community settings like small hospitals and clinics with personnel who have variable training, experience, and interest levels.”

Most people refer to prenatal sonograms as ultrasounds. They are used to monitor the growth of a baby inside his/her mother’s womb, to assure both parents that the baby is healthy, to determine gender, and to keep an eye out for birth defects, disease, and illness.

Routine prenatal sonograms help parents make informed decisions such as taking maternity leave (thanks to a more reliable due date), requesting fetal therapy or in-uterus surgery (to save the life of the fetus or prevent birth defects), and terminating pregnancy (should reasons deem necessary).

Thanks to the invention of prenatal sonography, early detection has allowed surgeons to perform in-uterus surgeries that have corrected birth defects and saved the lives of countless infants.

To learn more about how prenatal sonography helps detect birth defects, disease, and illnesses, check out the following resources:

Medscape: The Role of Sonography in the Evaluation of Pregnant Women

RTS: Prenatal Diagnosis of Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome

Heart Online: Outcome after prenatal diagnosis of the hypoplastic left heart syndrome

And for the mothers out there, read Mothering magazine’s article on prenatal testing.

Come back on Friday as we discuss how diagnostic medical sonography helps save lives.