While your baby is still inside your womb, various medical examinations are required to ensure the safety and growth of the fetus. Fetal Echocardiography is one of them. It is similar to ultrasound. An unborn baby can have various medical conditions which have to be diagnosed to eliminate risks and ensure their proper growth inside at this stage.
What Is Fetal Echocardiography?
Medical examinations like fetal echocardiography allow the doctors to inspect and determine the structure of your unborn baby’s heart. The second trimester is the ideal time for doing this examination. Between weeks 18 to 24, your doctor may suggest you for this test.
This examination applies sound waves to get an “echo” of the fetus’s heart to understand its structure. There is a machine that analyses these sound waves to create a picture or echocardiogram to show the interior of the heart’s structure. Doctors obtain valuable information about the structural growth of the fetus’s heart through this picture. They can determine if the heart is working fine or if there are any issues that should be addressed immediately.
When Your Doctor Can Suggest Fetal Echocardiography?
Not all pregnant women are advised by their OB-GYNs to go through this test. A basic pregnancy ultrasound works well for most women. If the previous medical examinations are not good enough or conclusive to determine the condition of your fetus’s heart, then your OB-GYN may recommend Fetal Echocardiography. In case they detect the irregular or abnormal heartbeat of the fetus while examining you, then also this test can be done to be sure.
Your doctor may suggest this test if;
There are clinical possibilities that your child will have heart abnormalities or other disorders
There is a history of heart disease in your family history
You already have a child with a heart condition
You have consumed alcohol or drugs during your pregnancy
You have consumed medications that can cause heart defects in the fetus
You have medical conditions like type 1 diabetes, rubella, lupus, or phenylketonuria.
Usually, an experienced and highly qualified ultrasound technician performs this test as per the recommendation of an OB-GYN.
Your OB-GYN will examine you thoroughly to find out difficulties in your unborn baby’s different body parts and ensure the desired level of growth at various stages of pregnancy.
At IFM, we perform all these critical and advanced medical examinations for fetuses and moms. We have highly trained and qualified technicians along with modern equipment and the right kind of setups.
Please get in touch with us for more information.