Ultrasound: benefits for pregnant women and the foetus

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Extract from the article: An ultrasound scan is a compulsory and necessary examination for all pregnant women. How often should you have it during pregnancy? What are the reasons for it? Here are the answers from Essénam Godji, midwife at the Centre Hospitalier Regional (CHR)

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An ultrasound scan is a compulsory and necessary examination for all pregnant women. How often should you have it during pregnancy? What are the reasons for it? Here are the answers from Essénam Godji, midwife at the Centre Hospitalier Regional (CHR) Lomé-Commune.

A normal pregnancy requires at least three ultrasounds, one for each trimester, says Essénam Godji, midwife at the CHR Lomé-Commune.   Ultrasound scans in the    first trimester « make it possible to determine the location of the pregnancy, i.e. whether the pregnancy is in the uterus (intrauterine) or outside (extrauterine). It also makes it possible to date the pregnancy, i.e. estimate the age of the pregnancy, identify the number of embryos to determine whether it is a single (1) or twin (2) pregnancy, and finally assess foetal vitality », explains Essénam Godji.

In the second trimester, the midwife continues, the ultrasound is used to check the morphology of the foetus: « Does the baby have any malformations or pathologies that could hinder its intra-uterine or even extra-uterine life?  And if we even have to let this pregnancy go to term with the pathology, how can we support it? »

The third trimester ultrasound shows the presentation of the foetus, whether it is cephalic, breech or transverse. « Apart from the presentation, we can estimate the foetal weight and the amount of amniotic fluid on the baby.Is there enough amniotic fluid?Normal or beyond hydramnios or below oligoamnios.This makes it possible to detect the sex of the baby, which is what many parents want to know. It allows them to prepare themselves. This third-trimester ultrasound is used to determine the prognosis for childbirth. Can the baby be delivered vaginally or by Caesarean section? », explains Essénam Godji, midwife at the CHR Lomé commune.

Ultrasound is a medical imaging technique based on the use of ultrasound, inaudible sound waves that allow us to 'visualise' the inside of the body.

William O.