When should minor fetal abnormalities be screened?

Minor fetal malformation screening is a method of ruling out fetal malformations, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of deformed babies. Every pregnant woman is required to undergo a fetal malformation screening examination. Minor fetal malformation screening is usually performed around 28 weeks of pregnancy, because it is only in the late pregnancy that it is discovered whether the fetus has developmental abnormalities and whether the umbilical cord is entangled. Pregnant women can learn about the contents of this article as to the content of the minor fetal malformation screening examination.

When should the fetal anomaly screening be done?

Minor fetal malformation screening mainly checks the maturity of the internal organs. The examination time is between 28-32 weeks. It excludes some fetal developmental abnormalities that appear in the late pregnancy, understands the fetal position, placental position and maturity, amniotic fluid, etc. It determines whether the fetus has umbilical cord entanglement, how many weeks it is wrapped around the neck, and the tightness of the neck.

What are the contents of the minor fetal anomaly examination?

The first ultrasound examination: at 6 to 8 weeks, mainly to exclude or promptly detect ectopic pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy) or abnormal pregnancy (hydatidiform mole, etc.), and to understand whether the embryo is alive.

The second ultrasound examination: at 11 to 14 weeks, mainly to measure the fetal nt, combined with maternal serum blood test, to assess the risk of fetal chromosomal abnormalities.

The third ultrasound examination: at 18 to 24 weeks, is mainly for systematic screening of fetal development and diagnosis of fatal fetal malformations, including anencephaly, encephalocele, open spina bifida, visceral eversion due to chest and abdominal wall defects, single-chamber heart, and fatal chondroplasia.

4th and 5th ultrasounds: at 32 to 38 weeks, to rule out some fetal developmental abnormalities that occur in late pregnancy, to understand the fetal position, placental position and maturity, amount of amniotic fluid, etc. It can determine whether the umbilical cord is entangled in the fetus, how many weeks it is around the neck, and how tight it is. It can also understand the blood flow of the umbilical cord and assess the safety of the fetus in the womb.

The above is some information that the editor introduced to you about when to do minor fetal malformation screening. I hope it will be helpful to you. To sum up, this examination method is quite important and pregnant mothers should pay great attention to it. The editor suggests that pregnant mothers can read more maternal and child books to enrich themselves in their spare time.

Things to note when checking for minor fetal anomalies

1. Examination time: It is suitable to examine within 22-28 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond this period, the structures of the fetus' face, limbs, heart, etc. may not be fully observed or cannot be displayed clearly; if there is too little or no amniotic fluid, these fetal structures may also not be displayed clearly.

2. Instruments used: A high-resolution color Doppler blood flow imager should be used for examination. Four-dimensional color ultrasound generally requires only the above-mentioned routine ultrasound examination contents for black and white B-ultrasound. Generally, black and white B-ultrasound is not used for detailed and systematic ultrasound examination of fetal malformations.

In addition, you should move more before doing fetal abnormality screening, which will help the baby's fetal position reach the best position. During the BC check, all the baby's conditions can be well displayed to the BC doctor, and the situation where some of the baby's organs are not clear or cannot be seen due to the fetal position will not occur.