What to Expect from Your First Ultrasound

Because an ultrasound gives us a painless way to see what’s going on inside your abdomen, it’s a highly useful tool for a variety of purposes. 

Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia, board-certified OB/GYNs Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, and Lorenza Simmons, MD, use ultrasounds for our pregnant patients, for example. 

This imaging allows the mother to see her baby and lets us check on the baby’s development. As a result, ultrasounds are a key part of prenatal care. 

They can also diagnose conditions, helping women figure out what might cause abnormal uterine bleeding. We might recommend an ultrasound to check for uterine fibroids, for instance. 

In other words, ultrasounds serve a number of uses. No matter why we recommend one, we want you to know what to expect. 

What happens during your prenatal ultrasound

Ultrasound imaging bounces harmless sound waves into your body. How those waves bounce back allows us to create a picture of what’s happening in that area. When we use this technology to get a picture inside your uterus, it’s called a prenatal ultrasound or sonogram. 

Getting this kind of imaging during your pregnancy lets you see your baby as they grow. It’s not just a nice-to-have, though. We use ultrasounds to track your baby’s development, and it even helps us determine your due date. 

Sometimes, we perform an ultrasound earlier, but most pregnant women get their first one at 18-20 weeks. 

This anatomy scan lets us check your baby’s sex and look for certain disorders. If everything is progressing normally, you may only get one ultrasound. We might recommend another ultrasound if we need to monitor something about your pregnancy. 

You don’t need to do anything at your first ultrasound except bare your belly. You relax on a bed as we apply a gel to your stomach, then glide the ultrasound probe over it. You can see the imaging as the probe moves, giving you your first look at your growing child. 

What to expect at your diagnostic ultrasound

When you picture an ultrasound, you probably imagine a device moving over your stomach. And that may be how Dr. Simmons or Dr. Trench-Simmons uses this imaging. That said, if we’re trying to figure out what’s going on in your pelvis, we may suggest a transvaginal ultrasound.

With this kind of ultrasound, your doctor gently inserts the ultrasound probe into your vaginal canal. That gives us a clearer picture of what’s going on inside your pelvis, allowing us to check for fibroids, cysts, and more.

We might also recommend this kind of ultrasound to diagnose a specific condition, like endometriosis. 

Wherever we apply the ultrasound probe, Dr. Trench-Simmons or Dr. Simmons prioritizes your comfort. The ultrasound waves don’t cause pain, but some women find the probe uncomfortable. Tell us how you feel throughout so we can adjust as needed. 

In most cases, we review your ultrasound imaging in detail after you leave our office, then call you with the results. 

If you’d like to learn more about what to expect at your ultrasound or you want to schedule one with our team, call our office or book an appointment online today.