Free Limited Ultrasounds

For the first 10-15 minutes of your appointment, a staff member will ask you questions to get you established as a patient at Ava Health. Once that is completed, you will speak to a nurse about your potential pregnancy, and she will determine your eligibility for the ultrasound. If you are eligible, the nurse will then start with a trans-abdominal ultrasound, and will apply a sound-conducting gel to your belly, then move the probe around to take images of your anatomy and pregnancy.

If a trans-vaginal ultrasound is needed, you will be given instructions on how to undress and use the paper drape to keep you covered and comfortable. The trans-vaginal transducer will be appropriately placed to obtain as clear an image of the pregnancy as possible.

All of our ultrasounds are performed by registered nurses that have been trained to provide limited obstetric ultrasounds. Each ultrasound is reviewed by a Medical Doctor who will diagnose the pregnancy.

As with any medical procedure, there are eligibility criteria that must be met in order to have an ultrasound, and those are discussed at the time of your initial appointment. If you meet that criteria,  the nurse may be able to offer an ultrasound on the same day, or schedule one for a later date. Please note that an in-clinic pregnancy confirmation is one of the criteria that must be met in order to receive an ultrasound. 

Ultrasound involves no exposure to radiation. The only side–effects for you may be some discomfort as the transducer is moved over your body to capture an image from different angles. 

The consensus in the medical community is that ultrasound is entirely safe for the fetus when administered properly using the lowest possible amount of ultrasound energy to successfully resolve an image. 

It should be noted that ultrasound images are subject to the interpretation of a physician. While they are clear in most cases and there have been amazing advancements in technology in recent years, there are limitations to what an ultrasound can reveal. For one thing, it is possible for an ultrasound to suggest the presence of birth defects when in fact there are none.

• Placement of the pregnancy (intrauterine vs. ectopic)
• Gestational age and due date 
• Fetal heart rate
• If there is more than one fetus (twins, triplets or more)

Preliminary results are usually available immediately. To ensure that we meet the highest standards of care, each of our ultrasounds is reviewed by a medical doctor in order to diagnose a viable intrauterine pregnancy. If there are any modifications necessary to the preliminary results, you will be notified.

An ultrasound is not usually painful. There may be some discomfort during an ultrasound as the transducer is moved into position to obtain the desired images. For the fetus, there is no pain or discomfort involved in an ultrasound procedure.

If your pregnancy is healthy, you can expect to get two ultrasounds throughout your pregnancy. One will be scheduled (ideally) in the first trimester to confirm (along with other signs) the due date based on growth and stage of development. Another is usually scheduled 18-21 weeks into the pregnancy to verify normal growth and the sex. While extremely common, prenatal ultrasounds are medical procedures and should only be completed for valid medical reasons. 

As early as the 14th week, though sometime around 18-21 weeks is perhaps a better bet. Being able to determine sex is not a guaranteed thing – it depends on the position and whether the fetus is still enough to be clearly imaged. Identifying the sex is generally done during the 20-week anatomy scan. Please contact your doctor or provider to schedule an anatomy scan, as Ava does not provide this service.