Ultrasound during pregnancy: percentile is it important?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pregnancy for a woman is a special state, now it is important to understand that the expectant mother is responsible not only for her life, but also for the life of the little creature that is inside her. Only she can take care of the baby like no one else. This does not remove responsibility from the father, but still, it is the mother who stays with the future newborn baby 24 hours a day. In order to have a complete picture of how the baby is developing and whether everything is in order with him, it is necessary to register in the antenatal clinic. It is there that a pregnant woman will receive recommendations about lifestyle, habits, behavior, and so on. Prior to this, the pregnant woman did not know that the percentile is an important indicator that is determined after the first ultrasound.

Surveys are important activities

No one initially taught the expectant mother how she should behave, because pregnancy often occurs suddenly, even if this event was planned. Therefore, it is important to strictly follow the recommendations of the obstetrician-gynecologist and take all tests on time, undergo examinations. All these events are not invented so that the pregnant woman does not get bored. These important examinationshelp to identify pathologies in time, which will save the pregnancy, and monitor whether the baby is developing normally.

Ultrasound during pregnancy

One of the most important and mandatory examinations is ultrasound diagnostics. According to the requirements of the Ministry of He alth, each pregnant woman must do 3 ultrasounds for the entire period of an interesting situation. The first is carried out in the early stages - 12-14 weeks, the second - 20-24 weeks, the third - 30-32 weeks.

If the gynecologist has some doubts, then an additional ultrasound can be performed as needed. It is worth noting that the harmfulness of ultrasound for a child is not a scientifically confirmed fact. These myths are spread by those who are simply not interested in excluding the development of pathological phenomena.

Important ultrasound information

During the ultrasound in the early stages and in the third trimester, various factors are determined that indicate how well the fetus is developing. Percentile is an indicator by which you can confirm the absence of genetic pathologies or their presence. If we talk about the first ultrasound examination, it is worth noting that this is a screening examination, which determines the following points:

• at this time, an ultrasound is performed in order to confirm a normal pregnancy and exclude an ectopic;
• determine the actual size of the fetus;
• a more accurate gestational age is determined;
• the state of internal organs is being studied and analyzedchild and mother's genitals;
• collar space is measured, children's weight percentiles are checked.

What is the collar space?

Collar space is the distance between a child's spine and the inner outermost layer of his skin. This space is filled with liquid, it must be measured in order to determine how well the baby is developing in relation to his physique, that is, whether his height and weight are normal. This can be determined using special tables. With ultrasound, the distance is measured, after which the percentile indicator is checked - this is a value that is determined by the distance from the spine to the outermost layer of the child's skin. If this indicator is in the range of normal sizes, then everything is fine, but if the indicator is outside the normal range, then it is necessary to visit genetics. A pregnant woman is issued a referral to a specialist who will prescribe additional examination methods in order to determine the cause of such an indicator.

Percentiles are…

Percentile during pregnancy is determined by special tables, no special knowledge in the field of obstetrics or mathematics is required. When studying the collar space, an assessment of the cervical fold of the fetus is made. An increased size may indicate that there is a chromosomal disorder, some pathology, in particular, this may be Down syndrome. In order to exclude or identify pathologicalchanges, a number of other studies are being carried out, such as a blood test for alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin and other invasive research methods.

What does "child weight and height percentiles" mean? This question can be answered only after you have the results of an ultrasound examination in your hands. So, you have the distance from the fetal spine to its skin, take a table, look for your indicator in it in millimeters. The table defines the percentile - this is the indicator that interests you. If it is less than 3% or more than 97%, then you cannot avoid visiting a doctor.

Percentiles for the height and weight of a child are also determined after birth. There is a table according to which, according to the age of the child, it is possible to determine how many percentiles correspond to his height or weight. These are the simplest methods for analyzing the normal development of a child.