The Fourth Dimension

While on my business trip, I was driving down the highway and noticed a sign advertising a 4-D ultrasound. I was a little confused for two reasons; 1) I have been pregnant twice in the past two years and I have never heard of such a thing and 2) I didn't know there was a fourth dimension. I just recently witnessed a friend's 3-D ultrasound which showed a lovely and not to mention very clear picture of their precious baby girl...and now there is supposedly something better!?!?

Hubbee and I, who went the more traditional route as far as ultrasounds are concerned, were pretty satisfied with our meager ultrasounding attempts. The shadowy picture showed enough of our little bees to make us happy and assure us of their correct development. Actually to be completely honest, most of the time I couldn't figure out what the heck we were supposed to be seeing. Hubbee would very excitedly say, "Oh, look there is our little bee's spleen (or some other ridiculous body part that I am sure he had no clue to its real whereabouts)! Can you see it?" and then I would nod my head and reply, "I can see it. Isn't a lovely spleen?"

Most of the time Hubbee was right in his "What body part is this?" guessing game and thus could not see the reason for paying for something more advanced. Maybe I didn't understand completely how an ultrasound worked and thus couldn't picture it the way it was intended but I needed something more...something better.

I decided to do a little research because if the 3-D ultrasound was so amazing then what more could this 4-D ultrasound offer...besides I wanted to know what the 4th dimension is. According to the GE Healthcare Worldwide website at http://www.gehealthcare.com/usen/patient/ultrasound/index.html, the 4th dimension is "real time." They describe their 4-D ultrasound as "the difference between video and a still photograph." 3-D ultrasounds show width, length and volume. Thus for all you non-technical folks, rather than your baby appearing flat (as they do in a regular ultrasound) in a 3-D ultrasound your baby will appear to have volume or take up space. However, this new 4-D ultrasound will not only show your baby's volume but will also show a "live action" view. GE claims there are many benefits to monitoring baby's development by studying it's movement patterns through 4-D ultrasounding.

If I were a high-risk pregnancy or had any abnormality surrounding my pregnancy, I could only imagine what a blessing it would be to see my baby and all of their limbs and organs moving...working. If you (the reader) have had a 4-D ultrasound please take the time to comment. Tell me what you think. How did it work? Were you pleased with its capabilities?

As always, from my hive to yours...