Prenatal Control aims at the early diagnosis of diseases and syndromes of mother and fetus, in order to ensure their good health, but also to give as much information as possible to the parents, about the existence of a certain disease, its prognosis and the possible effects on the embryo.

Embryo-Uterine Medicine or Fetal Medicine is that subspecialty – specialization of Obstetrics which, in the prenatal check-up, checks the fetus in detail.

The test is done, either to diagnose some syndromes in the fetus, or to prevent possible future problems in the fetus or the mother, or to treat in an invasive way. That is, if, for example, the fetus has fluid in the lungs, which do not develop properly during pregnancy, we place a “tube” in the chest of the fetus, which empties this fluid, allowing the lungs to develop and normal development to continue of.

Specialized ultrasound examinations in pregnancy

The three serious, necessary and specialized ultrasound examinations are performed approximately every three months in pregnancy and are the cervical transparency, Level B (analytical ultrasound) and color Doppler ultrasound.

1st trimester

The Cervical Translucency ultrasound is done between 11 and 14 weeks, and we measure the thickness of the fold of the fetus’s neck, closely inspect its anatomy, look for markers (signs) that may indicate a problem with the fetus, and take blood for the hormone control (PAPPA, free-BHCG and optionally PLGF hormone).

In this way we determine the chances of Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13).

These tests are necessary, as the result determines whether the pregnant woman should proceed with further invasive testing with amniocentesis (or trophoblast) or not. Also, in this ultrasound with the PLGF hormone and some parameters, we check the possibility of pre-eclampsia if the parents request it. Preeclampsia is the most common complication of pregnancy and occurs in 1-2 per 20 pregnant women. It manifests itself with hypertension (increased blood pressure) in the woman in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy usually. The result is that the fetus does not develop normally and in many cases, when the drugs are of no use, we need to intervene and “take” the fetus by caesarean section , prematurely, since he is not feeding properly and his life is in danger, but also so that we can treat the pregnant woman who is at risk of eclampsia.

The early prevention of preeclampsia in the Cervical Translucency ultrasound can save the mother and the fetus from all those problems that prematurity can cause, since with the Cervical Translucency ultrasound and the examination of the PLGF hormone in the pregnant woman’s blood , we can predict the probability of occurrence of Preeclampsia and reduce up to 90% the probability of its occurrence with drugs.

Also, in the Cervical Scan, we do a basic anatomy check of the fetus and check the possibility of premature birth, with some parameters that we measure.

2nd trimester

In the 2nd trimester, the Level 2 ultrasound is done between 20 and 24 weeks. The anatomy of the fetus, its development is checked in detail and the possibility of Down syndrome and premature birth is rechecked.

If there is an indication or suspicion of a syndrome in the fetus, from the cervical transparency or from Level B, or even if both parents have a hereditary disease, such as stigmata Mediterranean or cystic fibrosis and they want to check if their child has it too stigmata or the disease, then it is recommended to do either Trophoblast Extraction in the 1st trimester or Amniocentesis in the 2nd trimester to check the chromosomes and genes of the fetus.

3rd trimester

In the 3rd trimester, the color Doppler ultrasound is performed at approximately 28-32 weeks. It controls the good development of the fetus. Again, the anatomy of the fetus is carefully checked, because there are problems that manifest after the 2nd trimester. Also, the perfusion of the fetus and the placenta is checked, in order to make sure that the fetus is properly nourished by receiving the necessary amount of blood, to be able to predict situations that can endanger the development of the fetus or even cause and fetal death.

Problems that the fetus may have, either chromosomal or genetic and diagnosed only by amniocentesis or trophoblast, may be present in 1 in 70 fetuses. That’s a big percentage, considering we’re doing an amniocentesis when the chance of Down syndrome is 1 in 300 or higher. There are of course other syndromes, apart from the well-known Down syndrome, which are not diagnosed by ultrasound but only by amniocentesis or trophoblast and of course are not related to the age of the woman.

It is important that at least the special ultrasounds are done by doctors specialized in Prenatal control. Our goal is always to protect the health of the mother and the fetus from any problems that may occur in a pregnancy, to help the pregnancy progress smoothly and to ensure the birth of healthy babies.