Does ultrasound affect the fetus?

The article was professionally consulted with Doctor Nguyen Anh Tu - Doctor of Obstetric Ultrasound - Prenatal Diagnosis - Department of Obstetrics - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Currently, there is no scientific evidence that ultrasound harms the baby. The nature of ultrasound is that sound waves have very high frequencies (beyond the threshold of hearing) so they are completely harmless.

Routine black and white ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, and three-dimensional, four-dimensional (3D - 4D) ultrasound are commonly used in ultrasound for pregnant women. These types of ultrasound are basically the same because they all use high-frequency sound waves for diagnosis. In addition, whether it is color ultrasound or 3D - 4D, the main foundation is still based on the principle of black and white ultrasound.
1.1 Routine black and white ultrasound Black and white ultrasound helps to see the response levels of different strong and weak fetal structures, so the light intensity on the ultrasound screen of the structures will be different. As a result, ultrasound doctors can distinguish between liver, kidney, intestine...
1.2 Color Doppler ultrasound This is a technique used to detect the flow, direction of flow and velocity of flow. Therefore, in obstetrics, color Doppler ultrasound is used to examine the fetal heart and blood vessels. Thanks to color Doppler ultrasound, the doctor will detect cases of mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation of the fetal heart, measure the blood flow velocity through the aortic valve, pulmonary artery to detect cases of fetal stenosis. In cases of suspected small fetus, malnutrition, color Doppler ultrasound helps to measure the impedance indexes of the umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery... of the fetus, thereby assessing the health status of the fetus. fetus for indications to continue monitoring or to terminate the pregnancy, to remove the pregnancy because the fetus has shown signs of failure.
1.3 Pregnancy ultrasound 3D - 4D

The ultrasonic waves will be transmitted down at many different angles and the echoes will be processed by the computer to reproduce an image in three-dimensional space (four-dimensionality is the addition of the real-time dimension). Therefore, 3D - 4D ultrasound is often indicated to investigate more structures such as the fetal face, dynamic structures such as the fetal heart.

Weeks 6 - 10: Pregnancy ultrasound from 6 to 10 weeks to determine whether the fetus has entered the uterus, single or twin pregnancy and whether the fetus is alive (fetal heart rate) or not.
From week 11 to 13 : Measure the nape of the neck (double test) to predict some chromosomal abnormalities (these abnormalities can be the cause of Down's disease, heart defects, malformations of limbs .. .).
From 22 to 24 weeks: To check if the fetus is developing normally or not through the spine, skull, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, arms and legs of the fetus. In addition, the doctor can detect cleft lip, cleft palate, malformations in internal organs.
From 30 to 32 weeks: Ultrasound checks arteries, heart and an area of ​​brain structure, umbilical cord is good enough to transport nutrients to the fetus, position of placenta and status of amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid). opaque or clear, more or less).

Currently, there is no scientific evidence that ultrasound harms the baby. The essence of ultrasound is that sound waves have very high frequencies (beyond the threshold of hearing) so they are completely harmless. However, when the fetus is only 1-2 months (or less than 10 weeks), it is recommended not to abuse Doppler ultrasound, not to use it if it is not necessary because of the heat effect, which can affect the fetus because This is the time when important organs are formed.

Fetal ultrasound is only a diagnostic tool by imaging, surveying the morphological structure of the fetus, so it cannot detect all abnormalities, especially chromosomal abnormalities or gene mutations. For example, a morphological ultrasound at 22 weeks gestation can only detect 50% of Down syndrome due to abnormal findings on ultrasound, not a fetus with abnormalities that the sonographer cannot see. In addition, some abnormalities of the fetus in the central nervous system, cardiovascular system cannot be detected by ultrasound such as: cerebral hemorrhage, smooth brain, abnormal white matter, brain gray matter... Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is required to see it.
Maternity packages at Vinmec International General Hospital all have 2D, 3D and 4D ultrasound, helping to detect abnormal problems during pregnancy, protecting the health of mother and baby. Vinmec International General Hospital system has been using the most modern generations of color ultrasound machines today in examining and treating patients. One of them is GE Healthcarecar's Logig E9 ultrasound machine with full options, HD resolution probes for clear images, accurate assessment of lesions. In addition, a team of experienced doctors and nurses will greatly assist in the diagnosis and early detection of abnormal signs of the body in order to provide timely treatment. Depending on the stage of pregnancy, pregnant women will be consulted by the doctor for appropriate fetal ultrasound to check the development status of the baby.