Fetal Structural Malformations—Ultrasound

The early pregnancy scan is an essential part of contemporary routine antenatal care. In patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), a normal early pregnancy scan can be highly reassuring. At the same time, abnormal sonological findings may herald a nonviable pregnancy, detect chromosomal or structural malformations which are more common among these women, or forecast higher risk of poor pregnancy outcome. The most commonly used transducers, are: linear array or sector transducer (3-5 MHz for abdominal examination), and the transvaginal probe (5-10 MHz). In first trimester ultrasound, transvaginal sonography (TVS) is necessary up to approximately 10 weeks, and thereafter a transabdominal probe is mostly used. However, a transvaginal probe is complementary to abdominal ultrasound in order to complete the anatomical evaluation.