Your 12-Week Ultrasound: Everything You Need to Know

I had no idea what to expect when it came to my 12-week ultrasound. 

Even though I was excited to finally see an image of my daughter, I was also terrified about the possibility of finding out something might be wrong with her. 

So, on the day of the scan, I found myself sitting in the waiting room trying my best to occupy myself with magazines, social media or anything else I could get my hands on. 

Finally, my husband and I were called back and the ultrasound started. Within seconds, we saw our baby girl on the screen and as I had anticipated, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on.

However, as I laid there, I couldn’t help but wonder what they were looking for, if the ultrasound was actually safe for myself and my baby, and whether or not I was going to find out the results that day. Curious, I asked the technician a few questions about the ultrasound but she was so preoccupied with measuring my baby that she couldn’t give the detailed explanations I was hoping for.   

Fifteen minutes later, the ultrasound was finished and my husband and I were relieved to find out that our daughter was 100% healthy.

But, even though I was happy with my results, I couldn’t help but wonder why we have a scan at this time in pregnancy, whether or not it’s safe and what the indicators of a healthy baby are?

This curiosity is what lead me to reach out to Dr. Camille Hoffman, a Maternal Fetal Medicine physician at the University of Colorado to find out everything there is to know about the 12-week ultrasound.

I hope that Dr. Hoffman’s answers leave you feeling informed, empowered and confident in your decisions when it comes to your 12-week ultrasound.