13 Weken echo

As of September 1, 2021, you can opt for a 13-week ultrasound. This ultrasound becomes available as part of a national scientific study, the so-called IMITAS study. You can have a 13-week ultrasound performed if you want to contribute to this scientific study. Before the 13-week ultrasound, you first have an extensive conversation with your midwife and you must sign a consent form

The 13-week ultrasound is a medical examination that you can have performed when you are between 12+3 and 14+3 weeks pregnant. This ultrasound is best performed between 12+5 and 13+2 weeks. Then the structures can best be assessed. With the 13-week ultrasound you can have it examined early in pregnancy whether your child has serious complications physical has deviations. During a 13-week ultrasound scan, the sonographer looks at the skull, heart, arms and legs, spine, nuchal translucency, placenta and amniotic fluid.

At the 13 week ultrasound you will receive: not to hear whether your child is a boy or a girl. Even if this were already visible, it has been agreed nationally that the sonographer is not allowed to make any statements about this. However, you can have an ultrasound scan made at your own request at Ultrasound Center Almere from 13-14 weeks to find out the gender, namely a gender determination.

The 13 week ultrasound is not mandatory. But if you want, you can choose to investigate early in pregnancy whether your child has a physical abnormality. If follow-up testing is necessary, you have more time to determine what you want to do with the results than with the 20-week ultrasound. At the 13 week ultrasound the child is smaller and less developed. Less is visible than with the 20 week ultrasound, but some, often serious, abnormalities can already be seen.

You can also choose not to have this ultrasound done. For example, because you do not want to participate in the scientific study or because you do not want to do prenatal screening. Then you can wait until the 20 week ultrasound. At the 13 week ultrasound the child is smaller and less developed. Some deviations are therefore not yet visible. And sometimes the sonographer thinks he sees an abnormality, but after additional examination it turns out that there is no abnormality after all. It can also sometimes take a long time before clarity is obtained. The 13-week ultrasound may therefore make you (unnecessarily) worried and insecure.

The 13 week ultrasound cannot fail, but the sonographer cannot always see everything clearly. This is because the child is still very small (about 7.5 cm tall from head to buttocks). Some abnormalities are still too small around 13 weeks, other abnormalities only develop later in the pregnancy. It also happens that the sonographer does not get a good enough picture of your child, for example due to excess weight or the position of your child. The sonographer will then visualize the baby's structures using a vaginal ultrasound (internal ultrasound). The imaging with a vaginal ultrasound is often better at a detailed level than via the abdomen. If the structures cannot yet be properly assessed and the sonographer has no reason to believe that the child has an abnormality, the 13-week ultrasound will not be repeated. If you wish, you can then have another ultrasound scan at 20 weeks.

If the sonographer has an indication of an abnormality during the 13-week ultrasound or has doubts about it, you can opt for follow-up examination at a Center for Prenatal Diagnostics. That is a department that belongs to an academic hospital. Then you decide whether you want further research.

The 13-week ultrasound is not a fun ultrasound, but a medical examination. Preferably come to the ultrasound alone with your partner. Please do not take children with you and no photos or video recordings may be taken during the ultrasound. This is because it can be disruptive for the sonographers.

The 13-week ultrasound is reimbursed from the population screening.
This ultrasound should be performed between 12 3/7 and 14 3/7 weeks, with a preference between 13 0/7 and 13 6/7 weeks.
If you cannot find a place in our online agenda, please contact our assistants. They will be happy to help you find a suitable location.

Voordat de 13 wekenecho plaats vindt, heb je eerst een uitgebreid gesprek met je verloskundig zorgverlener. Meer informatie rondom de 13 wekenecho vind je op www.pns.nl and in the brochure 'The 13 week ultrasound and the 20 week ultrasound'. This brochure is provided by the midwife or can be downloaded via the link: Brochure 13 and 20 week ultrasound – Dutch