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During the past 25 years Dr. DeVore has examined over 100,000 fetuses. Many patients have been referred for Routine or Screening Ultrasound of the fetus in which the referring physician did not suspect the patient to be at increased risk for problems. When Dr. DeVore inquired as to whether the patient or her family had any concerns, the majority confided that their biggest worry was whether the unborn "baby was healthy." The following are questions that a pregnant woman should consider.
If I Would Not Terminate A Pregnancy If A Birth Defect Were Identified, What Is The Advantage Of Detecting A Problem Before Birth?
When birth defects are present, but not identified at birth, the child may not become ill until after it is sent home with the parents, only to return with a medical emergency. This is especially important with short maternal stays in the hospital following delivery. It has been demonstrated that the prenatal diagnosis of birth defects may improve the outcome of the child, especially when the birth defects involve the heart or spine.
From its early inception, fetal ultrasound has been a useful diagnostic tool when utilized by experts to identify serious birth defects. It has received much attention in the medical literature as well as the public press during the past 30 years. Numerous textbooks, and thousands of medical articles have been written describing its use to identify birth defects. Given its diagnostic potential, physicians in the early 1980's advocated the use of ultrasound to screen for birth defects in women who were low risk; having no family history, or not exposed to drugs or environmental toxins. While ultrasound appeared to have promise as a screening tool, it later became apparent that its potential benefit was limited by the experience of the physician or technologist performing the examination. Let us explore this in more detail.
What Is The Benefit Of Having A Fetal Ultrasound Specialist Examine My Unborn Baby?
While obstetricians may use ultrasound to determine the fetal heart beat during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or examine the amount of amniotic fluid in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy, serious concern has to be raised if they perform an examination of the fetus between 16 and 24 weeks of pregnancy to examine fetal anatomy. Because of the poor performance detecting birth defects as described above, patients should ask themselves whether they should have their screening examination performed by a physician with expertise in examination of fetal anatomy?