4D Ultrasound in Pregnancy
From the moment you learn of your pregnancy, you want to know your baby’s gender and appearance. There’s nothing more exciting than going to your first ultrasound scan to see your baby’s growth and heartbeat. With significant medical advancement, it has become possible to see your baby’s facial features and movements via 4D ultrasound. Continue reading this article to learn more about 4D ultrasound in pregnancy.
4D Ultrasound in Pregnancy
4D ultrasound in pregnancy uses sound waves with three spatial dimensions and one time dimension. This technology helps pregnant mothers see the baby’s face, hands, and feet and allows them to monitor its movements. Thanks to this, the doctor can detect fetal abnormalities and any unusual risks to obtain timely treatment methods, ensuring the baby’s growth and the mother’s health.
A 3D ultrasound is a three-dimensional ultrasound with many different angles, especially capturing thousands of images simultaneously, providing clear three-dimensional images. It can not only see the fetus’s organs and tissues but also clearly show the face and features.
Fetal ultrasound is considered the safest method for doctors to examine your baby in the womb during all stages of pregnancy. During it, the doctor checks for normal fetal heartbeat, head, spine, and gender.
Regularly checking the baby helps ensure proper growth and even allows for early handling of any complications if detected. Some pregnant mothers also choose to undergo 3D and 4D ultrasounds. 4D ultrasound helps you see your baby’s facial features and movements.
4D ultrasound is similar to 3D ultrasound, but it displays images of the baby in live video. The combined images show the movement of the baby’s body parts, such as heart walls and blood flow. 4D ultrasound also helps doctors see the movement of the baby’s body parts to ensure they are functioning normally.
3D and 4D ultrasounds are not necessary for routine pregnancy check-ups because regular ultrasounds can detect any defects or abnormalities the fetus may have.
Advantages of 4D Ultrasound in Pregnancy
While 4D ultrasound may not be necessary in pregnancy, it has many benefits and advantages, including:
Faster examination and diagnosis of the heart.
Seeing your healthy baby.
Accurate identification of facial defects.
Monitoring progress in fetal health.
Assessing the maturity and development of the central nervous system and diagnosing potential cleft lip formation.
Capturing live video footage of your baby.
Difference Between 2D, 3D, and 4D Ultrasound
2D Ultrasound: Produces a black-and-white cross-sectional view of the fetus to detect potential internal abnormalities like heart and kidney defects.
3D Ultrasound: Uses more advanced software to decode the image, producing a three-dimensional image of the fetus’s surface. Here, the doctor can measure the fetus’s length, width, and depth to diagnose issues like cleft lip and spinal defects.
4D Ultrasound: The most advanced. In 4D ultrasound, the software produces a real-time video of the fetus to show its movement, whether thumb-sucking, opening its eyes, or stretching. This examination provides more information about fetal development.
According to medical experts, during pregnancy, women should be monitored using both 2D and 3D ultrasound. 2D ultrasound detects fetal abnormalities, and 3D ultrasound can confirm the diagnosis, providing more specific information about the problem. 3D ultrasound can accurately diagnose some brain abnormalities within the skull during the 15th or 16th week of pregnancy.
Is 4D Ultrasound Harmful to the Fetus?
Ultrasound is a safe method for the health of both mother and fetus and is also considered a non-invasive way to assess the organs and health of your unborn baby. However, doctors prefer not to subject the fetus or mother to any unnecessary diagnostic tests. For this reason, doctors recommend 2D and/or 3D and/or 4D ultrasound examinations only when there is a medical indication for an ultrasound. This is also why non-medical use of 4D ultrasound for keepsake photos is discouraged.
When is the Best Time for a 4D Ultrasound?
It is preferable to have a 4D ultrasound when the pregnant mother is in the second trimester or at least 22 weeks pregnant because, at this time in pregnancy, it is easy to get a clear picture of the baby.
There are also specific times for performing a 4D ultrasound to detect congenital defects:
First Time: During the latter half of the third month, where some defects can be diagnosed early.
Second Time: During the latter half of the fifth month, which is the primary examination where we can see all the fetus’s organs like the heart, kidneys, brain, limbs, and external appearance like the face.
Third Time: During the latter half of the seventh month, where we check on fetal growth, weight, placenta, and umbilical cord.
When Does the Baby's Gender Appear in 4D Ultrasound?
4D ultrasound helps predict the baby’s gender more accurately. If the baby is in a suitable position, gender prediction is about 90% accurate.
The optimal time to use ultrasound to determine the baby’s gender with a high degree of accuracy is between 16 and 20 weeks. This is because the genitalia of male and female fetuses are very similar before 16 weeks of pregnancy, and the chance of error is high.
However, there may be some cases where ultrasound cannot accurately determine the gender until later in pregnancy. Factors that can affect accuracy include the baby’s position, the amount of amniotic fluid, and image quality.
For a more accurate result, it is best to wait until 20 weeks if possible. The best time to capture detailed facial images is between 28 and 30 weeks.
Does 4D Ultrasound Show Fetal Abnormalities?
4D ultrasound does not cause fetal abnormalities; on the contrary, it helps doctors detect and accurately diagnose fetal abnormalities such as cleft palate, brain defects, facial deformities, openings in the roof of the mouth, and cleft lip. The doctor can then take timely therapeutic measures and prepare early for delivery to save babies with medical conditions.
What the Fetus Looks Like in 4D Ultrasound
4D ultrasound helps you see your baby’s shape through live images of your unborn baby with much more detail and definition. You may notice the shape of your baby’s mouth and nose, or you might see them yawning or sticking out their tongue.
In the end, you get a clearer picture of your baby. It serves as a powerful tool that can help doctors study the baby’s movement and behavior, the surface anatomy of the baby, and problems related to the mother’s uterus and ovaries.