Dating Scan

What is Dating Scan? It is the first ultrasound scan for your pregnancy. Most mother doesn’t know when they should have their first scan. Dating scan is done during your early pregnancy, usually between 8-11 weeks of gestation. Dating scan is important in;

1. Confirming the correct dates of your pregnancy

• The earlier the ultrasound scan is done, the more accurate it is at estimating the baby's due date. This is because the fetus is growing so quickly that there is a big difference in size from week to week. Below is table showing the accuracy for each trimester;

Trimester	Accuracy of estimated date of delivery (EDD)
First	3-5 days
Second	14 days
Third	21 days

2. Confirming the presence of baby's heart beats

3. Confirming the location of your pregnancy

• This is important to make sure that the baby is inside the uterus.
• There is a condition where baby is not inside the uterus is what we called as ectopic pregnancy. This kind of pregnancy is dangerous as it can cause severe blood loss to the mother if it is ruptures.

4. Determining the number of your babies (singleton/twin/triplet)

5. Identifying pregnancies at increased risk of miscarriage or pregnancy loss e.g molar pregnancy

6. Identifying other abnormalities within your pelvic area such as uterine anomalies, fibroid and ovarian cyst.