Ultrasound is safe throughout pregnancy; it does not cause pain and it does not affect your baby.

An ultrasound helps to tell

1. The location of the pregnancy
2. The expected due date
3. The number of babies in your womb
4. How the baby is growing, and the position
5. It also helps to check if the baby is well formed or not
6. It also helps to tell the location of the placenta

The result interpretation

1. Expected date of delivery; ultrasound gives a fairly accurate result if done early, late ultrasound tends to give false dates. The date given comes with an allowance of ± 2weeks; meaning the baby can come from 2 weeks before the date up to 2 weeks after the date.
2. Estimated gestational age, the age of your baby as at the date of the scan
3. Estimated fetal weight, the weight of your baby as at the date of the scan
4. Placenta location; usually located on the fundus (the upper part of the uterus). When it is located lower down, it is called placenta previa or low-lying placenta.
5. Fetal heart: to know if the baby is alive or not, and to see the rate at which the baby’s heart is beating
6. The lie: the lie can and do change during pregnancy until the pregnancy is close to delivery (around 36 weeks)
   1. It is cephalic when your baby lies straight (vertical) and the head is down; this is the normal position.
   2. It is breech when your baby lies vertically but the buttock is down (i.e., sitting)
   3. It is transverse when your baby lies horizontally, across the womb