Once you’re pregnant, you’re in for a lot of tests. But hey, as a single mom by choice, you’re probably already used to that. And good news, ultrasounds are the primary test you’ll be receiving and this time the transducer wand goes on the outside.

When will your ultrasounds start and how frequently will they be? Well, let’s look at what normally happens for women in Ontario.

Ultrasound #1: The 12 week check in

Depending on any risk factors, you may be given an ultrasound before 12 weeks. For most women, though, this will be the first opportunity to see their baby. This ultrasound happens at the end of the first trimester to make sure things are on track, check how many babies you’re carrying, and look for any markers of genetic issues.

This ultrasound is helpful to check on the baby’s growth to give you a better sense of the due date and to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Now depending on your ultrasound tech, they may or may not let you listen at this age. You might need to wait for your 20 week scan for that.

There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for this ultrasound other than drink some water before going in to make things easier for your tech to see. Also, wear loose clothes or something that’s easy to pull off your stomach to give the tech room to work.

All in all, this scan was about 15 minutes. Remember, your baby is very little so there’s not a lot you’ll be able to see in a picture. Also, you’ll have to wait till your next appointment to figure out the gender.

Ultrasound #2: The 20 week scan

Somewhere around 18-22 weeks you’ll have your next ultrasound. This one is the big one. Here is when you’ll be able to tell the gender if you want to know. Make sure you tell your tech going in if you want to keep it a secret. Personally, I really wanted to know. I was convinced it was a boy and it turned out I was absolutely correct!

Be prepared for this scan to take longer. Mine was about an hour. This is the big anatomy scan so your tech is very carefully looking for any abnormalities or genetic indicators that something might be not quite right.

They will also be taking measurements of your baby’s limbs and organs to check that everything is on track. Plus they’ll look at your amniotic fluid levels to make sure all is well.

On this ultrasound, you’ll also get the treat of hearing your baby’s heartbeat. Don’t be alarmed if it’s very fast. It’s supposed to be. You’ll probably also get a nice picture to take home with you of your little guy or girl.

If everything is ok at this scan, that might be all your health care provider orders. Others might have a third scan.

Ultrasound #3: The 36 week big one

Depending on how you’re doing, your health care provider might order a last ultrasound towards the end of your pregnancy. This test is mostly to see the baby’s position to ensure they are head down or, if breeched, to make a plan on how to proceed.

By this point in your care there shouldn’t be any surprises on the scan. This one is really just to check on the progress of getting your baby into the right position to join the world.

Pictures at this stage will be the most classic “ultrasound baby photos.” You might even see them waving at you on the ultrasound screen.

Additional options

There are some cases where you might receive more than 3 ultrasounds in your pregnancy. A high risk pregnancy will need more monitoring, for example. Being we’re in Covid times, you should also know if you catch Covid while pregnant (like I did) you’ll be given the option to go in for ultrasound testing every 4 weeks for 4 visits. This was actually the only upside to Covid for them as it meant I got to see my baby once a month when I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. The reason they monitor so closely after Covid is primarily to make sure the birth weight hasn’t been impacted. Luckily, my little dude was consistently measuring about a week ahead of schedule so it didn’t look like there were any lasting effects.

Genetic screening

Another test you might want to consider is a genetic screen. Now, your 20 week scan will look for markers of Down Syndrome and other genetic issues. However, nothing is ever 100%. In Ontario, if your scan is clean at 20 weeks, the province won’t pay for further tests. If your scan shows some markers, you will be sent for a more accurate blood test which can help moms learn if they baby is at a higher risk for Down Syndrome.

For the vast majority of cases, the scan is all you need. If, however, you want to be very sure despite your scan being clear, you can always choose to purchase the blood test out of pocket.

I opted to get the test done despite the fact I have no indication I needed it at my scan. Because I’d waved the genetic testing of my embryos during the IVF process, I figured there was no harm in testing now.

I opted for the Panorama non-invasive prenatal testing. There are a few panel options you can choose from that look at other genetic disorders beyond Down Syndrome, but it’s up to you to decide how detailed you want to go. The basic panel starts at $550 at the time of this writing and goes up to $795 for a full panel screen.

There are a few different testing types you can use so ask your doctor about their recommendation. They all basically do the same thing. Also, these tests can be done as early as 9 weeks and can also tell you the gender of your baby if you want to know early.