Ultrasound is often thought of as being beneficial for pregnancy, but you may not know that ultrasound plays a large part in most fertility treatment programs. You will get to know the ultrasound technicians at your fertility clinic very well.

By using mostly transvaginal ultrasound, meaning that a probe is inserted into the vagina for better views of your reproductive organs, doctors can see the cervix, your uterus, ovaries, endometrial (uterine) lining, and even down to the fine detail of follicle production.

During different phases of your cycle, ultrasound can be used to monitor what is going on inside your body. Your fertility team can monitor how your follicles grow in relation to your hormonal production or in reaction to medications given. This can help your doctor adjust medications as needed to help you achieve a pregnancy. Using ultrasound in this manner can also help prevent overmedication and risking your health.

The endometrial or uterine lining can also be looked at in great detail. Your uterine lining will be monitored for thickness at various points in your cycle. Since it responds to various hormones to build a secure place for implantation of your fertilized egg, it is a vital component on the road to pregnancy. You may be able to take hormone supplements to help you build a thicker lining that will support a pregnancy.

Lastly, ultrasound can be used to help diagnose any abnormalities of the uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes. This may be something like endometriosis, cysts, fibroids, and any structural abnormality. It can also help suggest that further testing is needed based on suspicious information revealed.

Your doctor will work alongside you and your ultrasound technician to help determine what is the best course of treatment after your initial ultrasound. While not all methods of fertility treatment will require regular use of the ultrasound machine, it is a very handy and noninvasive tool to use for making some baseline assessments of your body. If you require more advanced technology help to get pregnant, then you will find that ultrasound is used frequently for monitoring purposes.

Saline Infusion Sonogram (SIS)

A Saline Infusion Sonogram (SIS), or ultrahysterisonogram, is an office procedure done to look inside the uterine cavity. This is done like a regular transvaginal ultrasound except that a catheter is used to place saline inside the uterine cavity. This allows for a clearer picture of the uterus. The SIS can help your practitioner diagnose potential implantation issues or other reasons that pregnancy may not occur or may fail, like polyps, scar tissue, or other problems. It can also be used as an alternative to the hysterosalpingogram (HSG), except that it does not give you information about the status of your fallopian tubes.