Second and third investigation
During the second and third preventive examinations, the ultrasound is normally performed abdominally, i.e. through the abdominal wall. For this, the woman lies on her back again, but this time the gel is applied directly to the abdomen and the ultrasound probe is placed here. The second ultrasound examination is probably the most important of the three and usually takes the longest, in many cases even up to three quarters of an hour.
In the meantime, the ultrasound allows us to see much more details, such as the umbilical cord, the placenta and the cervix. Consequently, the doctor can again (and more precisely) examine the unborn child for multiple pregnancies, heart activity, development and body outline. In addition, at this stage the amount of amniotic fluid, the position of the placenta and a larger number of malformations can already be detected.
If there are any abnormalities or unclear findings during this examination, either further ultrasound examinations can be arranged for control or other methods of prenatal diagnostics (PND) can be used. These include chorionic villus sampling, umbilical cord puncture, examination of the amniotic fluid (amniocentesis), neck wrinkle measurement or fetoscopy. Indications for this would be, for example, suspected intrauterine amniotic death, malposition of the placenta or maternal diseases.
It is often advisable to visit a special diagnostic center for such examinations, since a great deal of expertise is sometimes required to correctly assess the findings.The third (and thus normally the last) ultrasound examination serves once again to check the healthy development of the child on the basis of the previously performed measurements. It is also important to determine the position of the unborn child at this appointment in order to make any special arrangements for the forthcoming birth. If the position of the child is unfavorable, this is an occasion to perform further ultrasound examinations from the 36th week of pregnancy onwards.
