How to prepare for research?
An ultrasound at 5 weeks of pregnancy is prescribed in cases where the pregnancy test showed a positive result or the woman, having felt changes in her body indicating that she will soon become a mother, took a blood test for hCG, and it showed an increased level of progesterone - the hormone , which begins to be actively produced in the female body immediately after the successful conception of a child.
In order for the examination result to show the most accurate result, you need to prepare for the ultrasound as follows:
- Carry out thorough intimate hygiene.
- It is recommended to start drinking plain water 1-2 hours before the examination to fill your bladder.
- It is worth remembering that you should not go to the toilet immediately before the examination. Only with a full bladder can you get the most reliable result. This, in turn, will help the doctor accurately calculate the gestational age and determine the EDA (estimated date of birth).
- Take a condom for examination (it will be needed for transvaginal ultrasound examination).
- Take wet wipes, a medical diaper, shoe covers.
- Prepare a list of questions that you would like to ask the doctor.
The procedure is completely painless; for most women, ultrasound at such an early stage brings moral satisfaction and joy when they see the image of the unborn child on the screen. It is worth immediately noting that ultrasound diagnostics in the early stages does not carry a special information load. All life support systems and internal organs are just beginning to emerge, so there is no need to wait for the image of the child on the screen.
Immediately after pregnancy is diagnosed, a woman must stop taking any medications. If this is not possible due to medical reasons, you should inform the doctor who will conduct the examination.
Indications for examination
From the first days of delayed menstruation, the fair sex is haunted by the thought that she may soon become a mother. There are several methods for the initial diagnosis of pregnancy. The simplest is a pharmacy test for early detection of pregnancy. The advantage of the method is that pregnancy can be detected quickly, at home, and the test strip is inexpensive. The disadvantage of the test is the high probability of error and the inability to detect pregnancy in the first weeks.
The second method is a blood test performed in medical laboratories. This technique will show the pregnancy with 100% accuracy, but errors are possible in determining its duration.
Despite the convenience of using pregnancy detection tests, not all women use them if they suspect they are pregnant. Many people prefer to wait a little longer so that they can do the first ultrasound and get a 100% result. Other women whose period is several days late do not pay attention to it, thinking that a new diet, stress or climate change is to blame.
What symptoms should you pay attention to? The following signs are indications for an ultrasound examination:
- increased urge to urinate;
- constant feeling of fatigue, lethargy;
- increased drowsiness;
- changes in the volume of the mammary glands, the appearance of pain in them, swelling;
- nausea (vomiting is also possible);
- increased secretion of saliva in the mouth;
- change in food preferences.
These signs most likely indicate pregnancy. Why is it so important to conduct the first ultrasound, not limited to just a test?
There is a severe pathology - ectopic pregnancy, when the amniotic egg attaches outside the uterine cavity, for example in the fallopian tubes. This condition, without timely medical assistance, can lead to very serious consequences, including death. It can be diagnosed in the early stages only with the help of ultrasound.
In the first weeks of an ectopic pregnancy, the symptoms will be the same as during a normal conception, so one cannot neglect the need for ultrasound diagnostics not only to confirm pregnancy, but also to timely diagnose possible complications.
What data can be obtained from an ultrasound?
During the 5th week of pregnancy, the human embryo goes through a number of important changes. The embryo visually has the appearance of a cylinder, no more than 5 mm long. The weight of a child at such an early stage of pregnancy is up to 3.5 g.
In the fifth week, life support systems are formed, and the pancreas and liver gradually develop. Gonoblasts begin to be produced - cells that will later take part in the formation of the organs of the genitourinary system according to the female or male type, so expectant mothers may not wonder whether it is possible to see the sex of the child at 5 weeks - no, there are no genital organs yet.
What can you see on the screen? The head and tail, the lower and upper limbs, eyes, sinuses, ears, which are in the stage of final formation. All these parts of the body will not look quite familiar, since they are not yet fully developed. But just by their appearance and size, the doctor determines how correctly the embryo is developing. Thanks to ultrasound, the expectant mother can hear her baby's heartbeat.
The condition of the uterine fundus and the size of the uterus are carefully examined, which have their own normal indicators for each period. During the first ultrasound, the doctor measures the distance from the tailbone to the crown of the fetus. The resulting value helps to calculate the approximate weight the baby will be born with and whether it develops according to the gestational age.
If a woman doesn’t care much about the ultrasound other than how her baby is developing, the doctor pays close attention to the internal organs - the ovaries and uterus. The ovaries are examined for the presence of cysts and other pathological neoplasms. In the uterus, its tone is examined: if it is too high, this can cause complications during pregnancy. When uterine hypertonicity is diagnosed, a woman is sent for a medical examination and medical tests, the results of which are necessary to diagnose the causes of increased tone.
The condition of the amniotic egg is carefully examined. In the early stages, if the egg was attached outside the uterine cavity, the symptoms will be the same as in a normal pregnancy, and pathology can only be diagnosed through ultrasound examination. With normal attachment of the amniotic egg to one of the walls, the uterus will resemble in its shape an egg, slightly elongated to one side.
What the study will show
The beginning of the first trimester is the embryonic period. By the 5th obstetric week, the embryo has a circulatory system (in particular, the heart and blood vessels), a neural tube, and the formation of a primary organ (kidney) begins. The remaining life-supporting organs also gradually develop and begin to function. However, the size of the embryo is extremely small - only 1.5-3 mm, so it is impossible to examine it in detail even with the use of ultrasound.
At this stage of development, the amnion and yolk sac are fully formed in the embryo. The latter is the first hematopoietic organ, but it is also still very small, therefore it is impossible to objectively assess its parameters. The amnion, which is the cavity in which the embryo “lives,” can be visible at the 5th week. Intensive formation of the future placenta is underway, in the formation of which the tissues of the embryo and the expectant mother participate. The chorionic villi acquire their own blood vessels, from which the baby’s interaction with the mother’s body begins throughout pregnancy.
Norms of basic parameters
On an ultrasound at 5 weeks, the amniotic sac appears as an echo-negative formation with fluid and an enhanced posterior surface. A light (echo-positive) rim, similar to a halo, is detected around the fertilized egg. Deviations from the average size of the amniotic sac, the presence of anomalies and myomatous nodes mean the need for re-diagnosis, but not earlier than a week later.
A 5-week-old fertilized egg has a regular oval or round shape with smooth, clear walls and tiny dimensions - 5-6 mm in diameter. An important point during the examination is the size and condition of the pregnant woman’s pelvic organs. After fertilization, hormonal changes affect all structures: the uterus, ovaries. The latter may have neoplasms, as a result of which a “false” pregnancy is detected. Accordingly, signs of its onset, including delayed menstruation and the treasured “stripes” on the test, will be invalid.
At this stage, a specialist can already demonstrate to the expectant mother how a tiny heart beats. While his rhythm is still unstable, at the onset of 8 weeks it will be established at around 150 beats per minute.
What to do after the examination?
At the 5th week of pregnancy, all expectant mothers must undergo an ultrasound. Only with timely detection of pathological processes occurring in the body, which the woman may not be aware of, can treatment be started immediately and complications during this period be prevented.
What should be done after the first ultrasound? It is necessary to register with the antenatal clinic, but in most cases, in the absence of any threats to the health of the mother and the condition of the fetus, a pregnant woman is registered only at 12 weeks. Before this period, the expectant mother needs to realize her new status, change her habits in life, become calmer, less active, and change her diet.
Considering the active birth and development of all internal organs and life support systems in a child, a woman is strictly forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages from the very beginning. Some argue that nothing bad will happen from 100 g of good, high-quality wine, but doctors strongly recommend introducing a taboo on drinking alcohol for the entire 9 months of pregnancy and the subsequent period of breastfeeding.
What sensations accompany a woman at 5 weeks of pregnancy?
At five weeks, hormones are seething in a woman’s body with such force that her mood and behavior can radically change. Very often the condition of the expectant mother changes dramatically. A distinctive feature is irritability and a tearful state. A woman can take it out on her spouse or loved ones, and then reproach herself for it. Knowing about the existence of pregnancy, relatives should simply accept it and not get into fights with the woman. This will lead to nothing but unnecessary stress.
In addition to the psychological state, a woman quite often experiences toxicosis. There are several stages of this condition:
- Severe vomiting, up to 25 times throughout the day. As a result, a woman can lose up to 10 kg in weight, and her condition will be characterized by severe dehydration. That is why, at this stage of toxicosis, it is important to consult a specialist for admission to the hospital to maintain pregnancy.
- The middle stage, when vomiting can occur up to 10 times a day. Typically, with this condition, blood pressure decreases and heart rate increases. In addition, dehydration of the body already appears, and weight loss reaches 3 kg.
- Mild toxicosis, which manifests itself in the form of morning vomiting or nausea throughout the day. General weakness may be felt, although the pregnant woman's vital signs do not change.
In any case, if toxicosis in any form occurs during pregnancy, then you must tell the gynecologist who is caring for the pregnancy about this.
Additional tests
A representative of the fair sex will have to do an ultrasound more than once throughout her pregnancy. But it is at week 5 that the first ultrasound examination is so important for the initial diagnosis of the health status of both the woman and the child.
After receiving the ultrasound results, the expectant mother will need to undergo a series of medical tests to monitor how the fetus is developing and whether there are any pathologies that would negatively affect the course of pregnancy. Additional tests include:
- general urine analysis;
- general blood analysis;
- blood test to determine Rh factor and group;
- coagulogram;
- tests for HIV, AIDS;
- smear;
- bacteriological culture of vaginal microflora;
- analysis for parasite detection.
So many tests need to be done only once, after an ultrasound at 5 weeks of pregnancy. In the future, once every 1.5-2 months a control blood and urine test is taken.
At the 12th week of pregnancy, a screening test will be taken to identify possible abnormalities in the development of the fetus. This test is performed by collecting venous blood. To accurately decipher the analysis, the result of an ultrasound examination is required no later than 1-3 days before donating blood.
It is not possible to identify any abnormalities at the first ultrasound performed at week 5, since the internal organs of the fetus and life support systems have not developed, it is impossible to assess their condition and the degree of compliance with the norms of embryo development.
Some women are extremely negative about the need to undergo an ultrasound examination in the early stages, as they believe that this may have a negative effect on the child. This statement has no medical basis. On the contrary, only thanks to ultrasound diagnostics can pathologies and possible developmental anomalies of the child be detected in a timely manner, and appropriate treatment or medical termination of pregnancy be carried out for medical reasons if developmental anomalies are incompatible with life.
At such a short period of time, ultrasound cannot give a complete picture of the condition of the fetus, but if there are any severe developmental anomalies, in most cases they appear immediately; the development of the fetus will not correspond to the period of pregnancy. If an ultrasound scan at week 5 reveals possible deviations from the norm, the woman is registered and is under the supervision of doctors. Medical tests and repeated ultrasound examinations are ordered until the initial diagnosis is confirmed or refuted.
An ultrasound examination at week 5 is mandatory. This is the very first diagnosis of the condition of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, who is in the stage of embryonic development. This diagnostic method cannot be neglected.
What does an ultrasound show at 4-5 weeks?
The probability of seeing a pregnancy using an ultrasound examination at this stage is already higher. The timing has already been mentioned in this article, but much is still unclear.
- For example, an ultrasound at the 4th obstetric week is not the same as the 4th week from conception. Obstetric weeks are counted from the moment of the last menstruation, that is, their period is longer than from the moment of conception. Further in the article, all terms will be considered primarily as obstetric ones.
- So, what does a 4 week ultrasound show? The monitor will show the sac, which looks like a small black circle. But during this period, the mother’s body, especially the blood flow, is restructured quite strongly, so that the fetus is not deficient in oxygen. The corpus luteum also actively works, secreting substances necessary for proper development. If we study the structure of the fetal sac even more deeply at this stage, we can distinguish three layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm) from which all organs and tissues will develop.
- It is not necessary to do an ultrasound at the 4th week of pregnancy, as well as at the 3rd, but the indications are almost identical. It is very important at this time not to drink alcohol, take medications, quit smoking, etc. If these rules are neglected, the consequences can be very diverse, from disability of the unborn child to termination of pregnancy.
Speaking about ultrasound during pregnancy at 4 weeks, we should also not forget that if any questions arise, it is better to contact specialists in this field who can provide appropriate assistance. Self-diagnosis can lead to a more blurred and unknown picture for the doctor, since he must first of all conduct an examination and draw preliminary conclusions for himself. There is no particularly interesting information at the beginning of pregnancy and therefore diagnosis before the first screening is not particularly popular.
