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The results of the 20-week ultrasound

You get the results of the 20-week ultrasound from the ultrasound technician right away.

These are the possible results:

  1. There is no indication of an abnormality.

    This is the result for 950 out of 1,000 pregnant women. No follow-up testing is needed.

  2. The ultrasound technician wants to repeat the scan. 

  3. This means that the ultrasound technician could not see your child clearly. It does not mean that there are any problems with your child. The child may be lying in a position that is hard to see. If the ultrasound technician is not sure, you will be asked if you want to come back later. If you do, then the ultrasound will be repeated.

  4. An abnormality was observed. Follow-up testing is needed to confirm.

  5. This result means that the ultrasound technician saw something unusual. More tests are needed to find out exactly what your child has – and what that means for your child. You can choose to have follow-up testing. It is up to you to decide if you want to have follow-up tests.

  6. An abnormality was observed. Follow-up testing is not needed.

  7. This result means that the ultrasound technician saw something, but it is not serious and usually goes away on its own.You will have another ultrasound later in your pregnancy. When that happens, the ultrasound technician checks if it went away.

Does the result give 100% certainty? No. The 20-week ultrasound does not give 100% certainty.

No. The 20-week ultrasound does not give 100% certainty. If the ultrasound technician sees something unusual, it is not always clear if it is actually an abnormality. Even if there is an abnormality, it is not clear how serious it is and what that means for your child. Even if the result looks good, your child may still have an abnormality. That is because the ultrasound technician cannot see all physical abnormalities on the 20-week ultrasound.