What happens during the 20-week anatomy scan?

Estimating the amount of amniotic fluid in your uterus to make sure the level is normal. The sonographer will also be looking at your amniotic fluid levels and the location of the placenta.

Remember: Be sure to tell your sonographer if you don't want to know!

Telling you your baby's sex (if you want to know): Be aware that a level 2 ultrasound can also tell you the sex of your baby if you haven't already found out through noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) or a CVS, though with less than 100 percent reliability and depending on baby's cooperation.

Your practitioner will let you know whether any follow-up testing is necessary (it often isn't). Important to know before you head into your scan: Very few babies showing soft markers (choroid plexus cyst, echogenic foci or pyelectasia, to name an unpronounceable few) end up having an abnormality. Help screen for some genetic disorders: A level 2 scan also checks for hard and soft markers, characteristics that may indicate an increased risk of a chromosomal abnormality.The sonographer will also look at the fetal heart rate. The four chambers of the heart will be looked at, as well as the kidneys, bladder, stomach, brain, spine and sex organs. Measuring your baby's size and checking all major organs: Your baby will be measured from crown to rump, around the middle, and around the head, and his weight will be estimated.Here's what the sonographer will be looking for: What does the 20-week anatomy scan look at?Ī level 2 ultrasound focuses closely on fetal anatomy to be sure everything is growing and developing as it should images are much clearer and more detailed than the fuzzy ultrasound you might have gotten in your first trimester. If you have a condition that needs to be monitored (such as carrying multiples), you may have more than one detailed ultrasound. True to its name, the 20-week anatomy scan is performed in the second trimester of pregnancy, and can be done anytime between 18 weeks and 22 weeks.

At this appointment, a trained sonographer will perform a detailed anatomy scan.Įven if you had a first-trimester (level 1) sonogram to confirm or date your pregnancy, or as part of a first-trimester screening test, the more detailed level 2 sonogram is important because of all the additional valuable information it gives your practitioner about what's going on with your baby. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that women should get at least one sonogram in the second trimester of pregnancy, and virtually all practitioners now order an ultrasound anatomy scan for their moms-to-be.

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