Seeing Your Baby for the First Time
An ultrasound allows you to get a glimpse of your baby for the very first time. Similar to an X-ray, an ultrasound is a type of sonography, meaning it's an image created by directing sound waves through a medium to get an echo reflection of the solid and semi-solid mass within.
Ultrasounds are used during pregnancy to confirm gestational age and fetal viability, find the exact location of the fetus and the placenta, confirm number of fetuses, check for major physical abnormalities, assess fetal growth, check fetal movement and heartbeat, and determine the baby's gender. Results are occasionally inaccurate but, for the most part, ultrasounds are helpful.
When Do You Get an Ultrasound?
Ultrasounds are typically done for the first time before 24 weeks gestation, to get an idea of how the baby is progressing and to check for developmental oddities. This is often very exciting for the expectant mother, and parents are given a small booklet of photographs taken by the sonography machine to show off to friends and family.
Ultrasounds are a routine part of care for infertile or subfertile women, as well. They can be used on a daily basis to reliably and accurately track follicular growth in the ovaries and the process of ovulation. However, for many women, visiting the doctor's office every day for such a brief time period can be irritating and costly.
Using an Ovulation Test at Home
Fertility specialists whose patients do not wish to use an ultrasound for assistance have the option of using an ovulation test from the comfort of their own home. An ovulation test detects luteinizing hormone (LH), which surges just before ovulation. Positive results on an ovulation test indicate the woman is fertile for the next forty-eight hours, but negative results should not be a cause for concern; an ovulation test, much like a pregnancy test, is not 100% accurate all of the time.
If you've used an ovulation test for more than twenty days with no positive results, continue through the next menstrual cycle. Repeatedly negative results on an ovulation test may indicate an ovulatory problem, and you should consult your doctor.
Privacy and Persistence
For infertile couples, the key to success is maintaining hope. If you're made uncomfortable by repeated visits to the doctor's office, perhaps monitoring your ovulation at home with an ovulation test is better suited to your personality. Using an ovulation test is a private procedure, where only your partner needs to know your results, and less than positive outcomes are not a reason to lose hope. Those positive ovulation test results are coming, and shortly after, you might see positive results on a pregnancy test, too.
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