Twenty-Week Visit


Body Changes

Due to increased blood volume, you may notice increased sweating, nasal congestion, and vaginal discharge. As your baby grows you may begin to have shortness of breath because of upward pressure on your diaphragm. Other symptoms you may experience are pelvic discomfort, low back pain, decreased exercise tolerance, and difficulty getting comfortable.

Fetal Growth

Now your baby weighs 1⁄2 to 1 pound and is 10 to 12 inches long. You can usually begin to feel movement. This feeling of movement is called “quickening.”

Specific Instructions for this Month

  • Sign up for prenatal classes.

Women’s Care Imaging

You will have an ultrasound around 20 weeks to evaluate the growth of the baby, confirm your due date, and evaluate your uterus, ovaries, amniotic fluid, placenta, and the baby’s anatomy. This ultrasound is thorough and often takes 45 minutes. Although it does not provide guarantees, a normal ultrasound is very reassuring.
 
Ultrasounds performed at Women’s Care are medical procedures performed by ARDMS registered Sonographers and are interpreted by a Women’s Care physician.

Preparation for all Ultrasounds

Please arrive for your appointment with a moderately full bladder. We suggest emptying your bladder one hour before your appointment, then drinking 24-32 ounces of fluid. Water is recommended, but any fluid will do. You will be moderately uncomfortable when your bladder is full enough. Please do not use the bathroom before your appointment.

Obstetrical (Pregnancy) Ultrasound

Depending on the age and position of your baby, the ultrasound will provide the following information:

  • Fetal number and age 
  • Fetal viability
  • fetal position
  • Amniotic fluid volume
  • Survey of fetal anatomy for obvious abnormalities 

Women’s Care Obstetric Ultrasound and Guest Policies

Women’s Care would like to make your experience memorable and enjoyable, however, it is important to remember that your ultrasound is a medical exam.
           
We understand that this is an exciting time for you and your family. However, we ask that you adhere to the following:

  • Please be sure to arrive at least 10 to 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment to allow time for registration.
  • Have your current insurance card and picture ID with you at the time of your visit.
  •  If you arrive late for your appointment we, unfortunately, cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate you on the same day.
  • Guests accompanying you to your ultrasound must arrive on time or they may not be able to join you once you have been taken to the ultrasound room. We are not able to delay your appointment time while waiting for your guests to arrive.

Our priority is a quality exam of your baby, so we ask that you bring no more than 2 people with you to this appointment. In order to minimize disruptions, we cannot allow your guests to rotate out of the room during your exam.
 
Please make arrangements to avoid having children in the ultrasound room. If you must bring a young child with you, please bring someone to supervise the child in our lobby while you are having the ultrasound exam. We hope you understand that our policy is based on the safety and accuracy of your exam.
 
As a courtesy to our other patients and as well as to minimize disruption to clinic operations, we ask that you refrain from bringing gender reveal gifts, balloons, or similar items to this appointment.
 
Photography or video recording (including cell phones) is prohibited in the ultrasound room. Please have your guests shut off all electronic devices. We ask that any texting or phone calls be made before your arrival at your appointment.
 
We are pleased to offer you Tricefy®, an online platform for image sharing. The Tricefy® image-sharing tool enables you to access your images on your mobile device via text or email.
 
Women’s Care uses a cloud-based application that will send images of your baby directly to your phone that you may instantly share with family and friends who are not able to attend your ultrasound. Please be aware that fetal position, gestational age, and maternal weight may limit our ability to obtain optimal keepsake images.
 
The images of your obstetric ultrasound will be sent to your mobile device at the end of your exam. The link to access your images is active for 90 days. It is recommended that you download your images for permanent storage. We will not be able to retrieve them for you after 90 days.

Portal and Gender

Please note: if you choose to use our portal to review your ultrasound exam, your baby’s gender may be included in the documentation. It is recommended that you do not use this option if you do not want to know the gender until birth.