18-22 Week Ultrasound Results

If you had an 18-22 week (detailed anatomy) ultrasound, you might be wondering what your results mean. Although this ultrasound may tell you the likely sex of the baby, it can also give you some information about how the baby is growing and developing.

Normal ultrasound

You might be told by your health-care practitioner that your ultrasound was normal. This means that:

• The baby is the right size for its age.
• The placenta is a normal size and is in a safe location.
• There is enough amniotic fluid surrounding the baby.
• There are no concerns for how the organs or structures of the baby are developing.
• There are no signs that would increase the chance that the baby has a chromosome difference.

Ultrasounds in pregnancy cannot detect all conditions. For example, birth defects are sometimes missed during an ultrasound and are only seen after the baby is born. As another example, some genetic conditions do not cause any birth defects at all but result in health and learning concerns as the child grows.