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Invest in your unborn baby's health and future by having at least two crucial ultrasound examinations at the right time - this sound advice from our medical expert may help save your baby's life.
The images taken by new four-dimensional ultrasound technology of a baby in his mother's womb are unbelievably realistic.
You can clearly see the baby's facial features as he sticks his tiny finger in his mouth, yawns, turns and kicks - as if it's a video.
But these are much more than pretty pictures. They can reveal fetal abnormalities in time and perhaps help save your baby's life.
Any visible abnormalities - such as Down's syndrome, an open spine (as with spina bifida) or defects in the tiny heart valves - can be detected. It's almost as if you're seeing the baby from inside the womb.
And even where 4-D equipment isn't available two-dimensional ultrasound examinations can be invaluable in pinpointing health problems as long as they are performed by an expert, top local fetal specialist Dr Linnie Muller says.
The new 4-D ultrasound lets you see clearly and in detail - you can even watch your unborn baby dance
Muller describes three important facts about birth defects and ultrasounds every pregnant woman should know:
- By far the most birth abnormalities - more than 90 per cent - occur in pregnancies where both parents are completely healthy and normal and neither has a family history of any such defects.
- A pregnant woman's lifestyle habits - such as alcohol or drug abuse - can cause abnormalities in her unborn baby and even threaten the baby's life.
- The better trained the specialists who carry out the ultrasound the better the chances they'll spot an abnormality in an unborn baby. Not all general practitioners, obstetricians or radiologists are able to pick up all abnormalities with an ultrasound machine.
The table below shows what a huge difference thorough training can make to finding abnormalities in an unborn baby. It's a comparison between the success statistics of all doctors (including South Africans) who adhere to the standards of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMT) in London and those who don't. It shows why patients benefit when the standard for training is higher.
Ultrasound examination of a pregnant woman where the unborn baby is studied |
Percentage of unborn babies with defects found during routine check-ups |
Percentage of unborn babies with defects found by fetal specialists with FMF accreditation |
The nuchal fold scan at 13 weeks to identify Down's syndrome |
50% of all cases with Down's syndrome |
85-90% of fetuses with Down's syndrome. Some fetal specialists will also examine the nose bone and heart valves of the fetus. |
The examination at 22 weeks to find heart and other defects |
50% or less of heart defects |
75% of heart defects |
The nexamination at 22 weeks to find defects of the spinal cord |
30-80% provided the necessary blood test is also done |
98% of spina bifida cases and other defects |
The nexamination at 22 weeks to find defects of the spinal cord |
30-80% provided the necessary blood test is also done |
98% of spina bifida cases and other defects |
Costs of ultrasound examinations |
A quick monthly pregnancy scan to see if the baby's heart is still beating costs R175-R200. |
The scans by a fetal specialist at 13 and 22 weeks cost about R800 and R1 000 respectively. It can save your baby's life if a heart surgeon is standing by to operate immediately after birth. |
These two ultrasound examinations could be of immense help to pregnant women:
- The nuchal fold scan at 13 weeks
The thickness of a baby's nuchal fold (the neck fold at the back of his head) is measured and the mom has blood tests done. In this way a fetal specialist can identify 85-90 per cent of fetuses with Down's syndrome early in the pregnancy.
- The ultrasound examination at 22 weeks
This scan measures the fetus, checks the placenta and how much amniotic fluid surrounds the baby, and meticulously examines the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs. Heart defects are the most common birth abnormalities - almost one in 100 babies is born with a heart defect.
YOU Pulse; Summer, December 2007
