I decided to write about level 2 ultrasounds, since I just had one this week. Since I am over 35, which the doctor refers to as “advanced maternal age”, he wanted to do some testing to be sure the baby is healthy. I refused the triple screen blood test since I’ve had a false positive in a previous pregnancy. I was also not interested in an amniocentesis (amnio), because of the risk of miscarriage with this test. He seemed very unhappy with these decisions and suggested the level 2 ultrasound.
A level 2 ultrasound is a targeted ultrasound. It’s a more detailed scan of the gestational sac, brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, spine, umbilical cord insertion site, fluid surrounding the baby and placenta. It is used to detect problems with the baby, to prepare the parents in the event of a problem and to determine if any specialized medical personnel will be needed at the birth.
If a problem is detected, parents can opt for an amnio for more detailed information. The doctor who performed ours told us he doesn’t generally recommend this unless the parents would consider terminating the pregnancy. Since we told him we would not consider that an option, he advised against the amnio before he started the scan. The process lasted under an hour.
In general, a doctor specializing in this type of scan will perform the test. In some cases, a trained technician will perform the ultrasound and the doctor will interpret it later. Other doctors prefer to do the scan themselves. In our case, the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist did the scan himself. This is good because you get the results right then, rather than having to wait a day or so until the doctor can review the materials.
As he scanned each area of our baby, he gave us the results immediately. He scanned the brain and told us it was normal. Then he scanned the heart and told us it looked great. This continued throughout the process. It was comforting to know right away that the baby looked very healthy. There was no agony in waiting for test results. Around the middle of the test, he saw the gender and told us we are expecting a healthy baby boy. Since we have three daughters, this was the high point for my husband.
We had a very good experience. I would recommend this test as a less invasive alternative to other testing. You get valuable information about the health of the baby without the risk of other tests, such as an amnio.