19 week ultrasound: A comprehensive guide to anatomy scan

19 weeks is past the halfway point of your pregnancy. This is the time when your baby is already about the size of a beef tomato. It has its major organs, systems, and even genitals well-developed, which is why it’s also a common time for the full anatomy scan – one of the most crucial screenings in every pregnancy.

To do a 19 week ultrasound, your doctor will use an abdominal ultrasound (unless there is a need for a transvaginal probe). They will assess all major structures of your baby, including:

• Head (including skull and brain)
• Face
• Neck
• Thorax (including heart and its four chambers)
• Abdomen
• Spine
• Limbs and fingers/toes

A detailed assessment enables healthcare providers to detect major anomalies and birth defects. Additionally, your doctor will evaluate your placenta and its location to detect potential labor risks.

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At 19 weeks, you’re already halfway through your pregnancy. At this time, your baby bump should become noticeable, and early pregnancy symptoms should ease, giving you more energy and an overall better well-being. At the same time, your breasts will feel even more swollen, and your backache might intensify as your baby grows.

19 weeks is a crucial milestone in pregnancy as it’s the time when all major organs and systems of your baby should be already developed. They still need time for maturation, but should already be clearly visible in an ultrasound.

If you’ve been scheduled for a 19 week ultrasound, you might feel both excited and terrified. It’s the second major screening in your pregnancy, during which you will learn a lot about your baby. So, what should you prepare for when having an ultrasound 19 weeks pregnant? Let’s figure it out!

Why Do You Need a 19 Week Ultrasound?

19 weeks is approximately 5 months of pregnancy. This is a significant term, which means that you’ve already had at least one ultrasound – during the first trimester to confirm pregnancy viability and estimate the due date. So, why do you need to have a doctor check your baby at 19 weeks ultrasound?

In a standard pregnancy ultrasound schedule, you have two essential screenings. One is known as a viability and dating scan and is typically performed between 10 and 13 weeks (in the first trimester).

The second essential screening is known as the full anatomy scan. It should take place somewhere between 18 and 22 weeks, and it’s one of the most important screenings you will have. During this ultrasound, your healthcare provider will carefully assess the development of major fetal organs to ensure that they develop normally and there are no anomalies.

How Big Is Your Baby at 19 Weeks Ultrasound?

As you prepare for your 19 week ultrasound, your baby continues developing and growing. It should already be about 15.3 cm long, which is similar to a beef tomato in size.

The baby already has all major organs and systems developed. During this week, it starts growing its adult teeth and actively puts on weight, preparing for the birth.

What Does a 19 Week Ultrasound Look Like?

The standard ultrasound will give you a detailed, black-and-white image of your baby, in which you should see your baby’s head, face, torso, limbs, fingers, and toes. Traditionally, the image is 2D. However, depending on the clinic and your healthcare provider, you might be offered to do a 3D ultrasound to get an even more detailed and realistic view of your baby.

However, don’t rely on this option too much during a normal 19 week ultrasound. Generally, it’s believed that the best time for a 3D sonogram is 24-32 weeks, so it might be a little early.

What to Expect From a 19 Week Sonogram

By this time, you should’ve already had at least one pregnancy ultrasound. So, you should have some idea about what is waiting for you at a 19 week ultrasound. However, the truth is that this is a slightly different procedure that implies a much more in-depth analysis of your baby. Thus, it’s important to understand what to prepare for in full.

Firstly, let’s talk about the procedure itself. A normal 19 week ultrasound is performed completely over your belly. The fetus should be big enough to receive a clear and detailed image using an abdominal ultrasound, so you can expect the technician to apply gel to your belly and use a transducer to get an image. However, it’s also possible to have a transvaginal ultrasound. It might be needed if the doctor needs a clearer view of fetal or maternal structures. And it might also be used if there is a suspicion of placenta previa. But don’t worry, it’s still safe to have a transvaginal probe.

Now, let’s define the process in detail. Generally, you can expect to go through three stages in your full anatomy scan:

Anatomical Survey

First of all, your healthcare provider will evaluate your baby. They will look at the following major organs and structures:

• Head (including skull and brain)
• Face
• Neck
• Thorax (including heart and its four chambers)
• Abdomen
• Spine
• Limbs and fingers/toes

Additionally, the doctor will likely measure your baby and check the heart rate. All this is needed to ensure the normal development of a baby and rule out any birth defects.

During the ultrasound itself, the technician will likely only point out different important structures and comment on positive findings. Later, you will see a detailed report from the anatomic assessment with clear explanations of the key findings.

Gender Detection

Here comes the exciting part of having your ultrasound 19 weeks pregnant. By this time, your baby’s genitals are already developed enough to be seen in an ultrasound. So, after assessing the anatomical structure, the technician will likely check the gender.

If you’re having a girl, the labia may look like three parallel lines or dots, with the clitoris between. If you are having a boy, the ultrasound should show a penis and scrotum that appear as two dots. The best part? At 19 weeks, the accuracy of gender prediction is as high as 95-99%, meaning that you might finally learn who you carry. Still, your baby’s position and image quality can affect accuracy.

Placenta Evaluation

Lastly, during a 19 week sonogram, your healthcare provider will likely check your placenta and identify its position. This is important to predict possible complications during labor and address them accordingly.

The possible placenta positions include:

• Anterior placenta: located on the front wall of the uterus.
• Posterior placenta: located on the back wall of the uterus.
• Lateral placenta: located on the left or right side of the uterus.
• Fundal placenta: located at the top of the uterus.
• Low-lying placenta: located below the midline of the uterus.
• Placenta previa: a placenta that covers the cervix partially or fully.

The most common positions are anterior, posterior, lateral, and fundal. None of them is generally better or worse. They all don’t affect your or your baby’s health and typically lead to a healthy delivery. They’re just different and shouldn’t cause any worries.

A low-lying placenta can potentially increase the risk of bleeding and a C-section. However, it often moves up before delivery, which means that it’s still possible to avoid risks. A placenta previa, however, is a more serious condition that almost always requires a C-section. However, it only affects 1 in 200 births, and it’s possible to mitigate associated risks with proper prenatal care.

What Anomalies Can Be Detected With a 19 Week Sonogram?

Since your baby is already grown and developed enough, a 19 week ultrasound allows doctors to check for a huge range of anomalies, including those related to the fetus’s:

• Skull and brain
• Face
• Central nervous system
• Cardiovascular system
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Skeleton
• And other systems and organs

The doctor will carefully analyze all the visible systems to see if they are developed as expected or not. If there are any anomalies, this will enable your healthcare provider to detect various birth defects.

In particular, there are 11 most essential conditions that the anatomy scan can detect:

1. Anencephaly
2. Open spina bifida
3. Cleft lip and palate
4. Diaphragmatic hernia
5. Gastroschisis
6. Exomphalos
7. Serious cardiac abnormalities
8. Bilateral renal agenesis
9. Severe skeletal dysplasia
10. Edwards syndrome
11. Patau syndrome

FAQ

What if my doctor doesn’t schedule me for an ultrasound 19 weeks pregnant?

It shouldn’t be a cause for concern. The full anatomy scan is an essential part of standard prenatal care and a very important screening, which is why you will definitely have one. However, it’s possible to perform this scan anywhere between 18 and 22 weeks. So if you are not scheduled for one yet, it’s possible that your doctor is just planning to do it later, for example, at 20 weeks, when your baby is even more grown and developed. This might be just because your pregnancy is uncomplicated and there are no reasons to make a full assessment earlier.

What’s the best placenta position?

There is no single “best” or “worst” option, except for a low-lying placenta and placenta previa that require additional monitoring. All common positions are generally healthy and normal. However, there are some specs associated with the anterior placenta. It doesn’t cause any health problems or complications. But due to its location, it acts as a cushion and can make it harder to feel fetal movement. And it can also affect the clarity of an ultrasound image.

How high is the anomaly detection rate at 19 weeks?

The anatomy scan performed between 18 and 22 weeks has a rather high detection rate for major fetal malformations. Yet, the specific detection rates can range between 15% and 85%, depending on the specific type of anomaly being examined. Some organs and systems are harder to assess. Besides, the quality of ultrasound equipment and the technician’s qualifications play a massive role in accuracy.

Conclusion

19 weeks is an exciting point in pregnancy that can bring you many exciting news on your baby’s development. The fetus is already quite grown, which is why this is the typical time to get your anatomy scan done.

So, what do you expect from a 19 week ultrasound? After reading this article, you should have a clear understanding of how it goes and what you will see in the process. This information should help you prepare for your big screening and gain peace of mind.

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