First Signs of pregnancy on Ultrasound

Everyone knows the first signs of pregnancy....nausea & sickness, tender breast, missed period.....but what are the first signs of pregnancy on ultrasound?

LMP = 4 weeks:-
The lining of the womb will become thickened and slightly brighter than in the "none pregnant" uterus
We may see a small cyst on 1 of your ovaries - this is nothing to worry about and is called the corpus luteum [it is what is left behind after ovulation - and releases hormones to stop you from having a period :-) ]

LMP = 5 weeks :-
A small "black hole" (the gestation sac) will appear within the lining of the womb.

During this week a small circle will appear within the gestation sac - this is the yolk sac (just like the yolk in a chickens egg) and this will provide nourishment for the developing embryo...

Next development we see is a small line / "blob" THIS IS THE EMBRYO!

At just over 6 weeks gestational age the embryo should development heart beat (by the time the embryo measures 6mm it should be beating!)
Although sometimes we can scan sometimes see things doing a transabdominal scan (tummy scan with full bladder) the best why to scan this early in pregnancy is to do a transvaginal scan (internal scan). This does not compromise your pregnancy in any way, but allows us to use a higher frequency ultrasound probe (thus we can see smaller things more clearly).


(NB; LMP = 1st day of your last menstraul period)