Sonogram

[Anonymous]

Are a sonogram and an ultrasound the same thing? I have my first sonogram in January (~9 weeks) and am wondering if I will actually see something or just hear a heartbeat (hopefully!)

[Anonymous]

Yes, they are the same. You should be able to see your baby and its heart beating. Congrats.

BTW, "Doppler" is the term for the heart monitor where you only hear the heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot for the clarification. Keeping my fingers crossed

[Anonymous]

Hello there,

Funny you ask this question, I was wondering the same thing. They are NOT the same. Today I rescheduled an appointment with another area OB and asked what would take place at this appointment. His medical assistant said, "a sonogram." I asked if that was the same thing as an ultrasound but she said no, but they would give me a prescription to get one of those, too. In the meantime, she said a sonogram is similar to an ultrasound but is not as precise or clear. You'll get a picture and you'll hear the heartbeat (depending on how far along you are) but it is in fact not the same as an ultrasound. HTH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they are the same. You should be able to see your baby and its heart beating. Congrats.

BTW, "Doppler" is the term for the heart monitor where you only hear the heartbeat.

Ummm...actually that isn't quite true. The Doppler (just like used for weather forecasting - for "seeing" precipitation like snow verse rain) actually picks up on the two-way heart flows (the systolic and diastolic pumpings - ie blood flowing in, blood flowing out of the heart). It is quite common to use the Doppler machine for cardiac patients. For preg. women, the Doppler is mostly used to look at the baby's heart to make sure there are no anomalies or congenital defects. In addition, it can also reveal the blood flow of the umbilical cord to reveal any kinks or anything else that might hinder it (there are three "veins" of the umbilical cord, although some women just have two).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello there,

Funny you ask this question, I was wondering the same thing. They are NOT the same. Today I rescheduled an appointment with another area OB and asked what would take place at this appointment. His medical assistant said, "a sonogram." I asked if that was the same thing as an ultrasound but she said no, but they would give me a prescription to get one of those, too. In the meantime, she said a sonogram is similar to an ultrasound but is not as precise or clear. You'll get a picture and you'll hear the heartbeat (depending on how far along you are) but it is in fact not the same as an ultrasound. HTH.

A sonogram and an ultrasound ARE the same thing. What your OB may have been talking about is the fact that they probably have a smaller (read:cheaper) machine at their office and thus the picture quality may not be that good. If you go to a radiology lab or some other place that specializes in medical imaging services, they are likely to have better machines where the quality of the picture will be better. But I've always heard sonogram and ultrasound used synonymously.

OP, at 9 weeks it's probably too early to actually "hear" the heartbeat, but you will be able to "see" it flicker on the u/s screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they are the same. You should be able to see your baby and its heart beating. Congrats.

BTW, "Doppler" is the term for the heart monitor where you only hear the heartbeat.

Ummm...actually that isn't quite true. The Doppler (just like used for weather forecasting - for "seeing" precipitation like snow verse rain) actually picks up on the two-way heart flows (the systolic and diastolic pumpings - ie blood flowing in, blood flowing out of the heart). It is quite common to use the Doppler machine for cardiac patients. For preg. women, the Doppler is mostly used to look at the baby's heart to make sure there are no anomalies or congenital defects. In addition, it can also reveal the blood flow of the umbilical cord to reveal any kinks or anything else that might hinder it (there are three "veins" of the umbilical cord, although some women just have two).

I think you and I are thinking of different things. I meant just a basic fetal heart monitor, which also works thanks to the Doppler effect, something like this:

http://www.bellybeats.com/digital-fetal-doppler-heart-monitorbaby-heart-monitor-rental-p-1068.html?osCsid=bede7dca292dc5fbefd2eaca3f01a374

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello there,

Funny you ask this question, I was wondering the same thing. They are NOT the same. Today I rescheduled an appointment with another area OB and asked what would take place at this appointment. His medical assistant said, "a sonogram." I asked if that was the same thing as an ultrasound but she said no, but they would give me a prescription to get one of those, too. In the meantime, she said a sonogram is similar to an ultrasound but is not as precise or clear. You'll get a picture and you'll hear the heartbeat (depending on how far along you are) but it is in fact not the same as an ultrasound. HTH.

A sonogram and an ultrasound ARE the same thing. What your OB may have been talking about is the fact that they probably have a smaller (read:cheaper) machine at their office and thus the picture quality may not be that good. If you go to a radiology lab or some other place that specializes in medical imaging services, they are likely to have better machines where the quality of the picture will be better. But I've always heard sonogram and ultrasound used synonymously.

OP, at 9 weeks it's probably too early to actually "hear" the heartbeat, but you will be able to "see" it flicker on the u/s screen.

PP here. A quick search of the internet suggests you are correct -- Ultrasound vs. Sonogram

Thought I would set the record straight. What is the difference between an ultrasound and a sonogram?

From what I can deduce after much research and speaking with two doctors. The procedure in which sound waves are bounced off an object is referred to as an ultrasound. The resulting picture is a sonogram. Most of the time the terms are used interchangeably and technically they mean the same thing, i.e. one uses ultrasound to create a sonogram.

ul·tra·sound
n.
1. Ultrasonic sound.
2. Medicine. The use of ultrasonic waves for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, specifically to image an internal body structure, monitor a developing fetus, or generate localized deep heat to the tissues.

son·o·gram
n.
An image, as of an unborn fetus or an internal body organ, produced by ultrasonography. Also called echogram, sonograph, ultrasonogram.


I only spoke with a medical assistant. She told me that they are not the same but perhaps she was not sure of the terms. I will be asking my OB for a clearer answer this Thursday.