Midwives play a critical role in maternal healthcare, and as point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) becomes more affordable and easier to use, it is becoming an indispensable tool in their practice. While early pregnancy ultrasound is essential, the second and third trimesters present unique challenges and opportunities to ensure the well-being of both mother and baby.
We recently invited Carolyn Gegor, a certified nurse midwife and ultrasound educator to present a practical webinar designed specifically for midwives that focuses on the use of ultrasound for fetal growth monitoring, amniotic fluid assessment, placental evaluation, and more.
The one-hour webinar is now available to watch on demand: Prenatal POCUS: 2nd & 3rd Trimester Ultrasound Essentials for Midwives. Scroll down for webinar highlights, quick tips, and short videos to improve your clinical practice and ensure better outcomes for your patients.
Webinar Highlights: Key Applications of POCUS for Healthy Pregnancies
- Determining Fetal Lie: Easily identify whether the baby is in a vertex (head down) or breech presentation.
In this video, Shelly Guenther demonstrates how to scan a 2nd trimester patient in 2 minutes using a Clarius scanner.
- Monitoring Fetal Cardiac Activity: Go beyond simply detecting a heartbeat; use POCUS to obtain accurate fetal heart rate measurements and document them with images. As Carolyn Gegor emphasizes, „It’s important that you get an image and a heart rate printed out on the screen.“
- Assessing Placental Location: Determine the location of the placenta (anterior, posterior, fundal, lateral) and its relationship to the cervix, which is crucial for detecting potential complications like placenta previa.
- Evaluating Amniotic Fluid Volume: Accurately measure amniotic fluid volume using the single deepest pocket (SDP) method, which has been shown to be superior to the traditional amniotic fluid index (AFI). Gegor highlights the importance of SDP by stating, „When the studies were done in 2016, the safe trials were done and they’ve been repeated… They’ve shown that the deepest vertical pocket is superior to the amniotic fluid index and that the number of interventions is far less.“
Watch this 1-minute video demonstration of amniotic fluid assessment with a Clarius C3 HD3 scanner.
- Estimating Gestational Age: While first-trimester dating is preferred, POCUS can be used in the second trimester to estimate gestational age using fetal biometry (head circumference, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length).
Watch this 2-minute video to see how to perform a fetal head measurement using a Clarius C3 HD3.
- Monitoring Fetal Growth: Track fetal growth parameters and identify potential fetal growth restriction (FGR) early on.
- Measuring Cervical Length: Transvaginal cervical length measurement can help identify women at risk for preterm birth. Gegor advises, „It’s recommended that if you want to follow this and have it as a part of your scope of practice, that you take a course from the Fetal Medicine Foundation.“
- Performing Biophysical Profiles: Conduct biophysical profiles (BPPs) to assess fetal well-being in the third trimester, including fetal tone, movement, breathing, and amniotic fluid volume, along with a non-stress test (NST).
Tips for Using POCUS
- Invest in Training: Seek out comprehensive training courses to develop your POCUS skills, especially for transvaginal cervical length measurement.
- Know Your Equipment: Familiarize yourself with the features and functions of your ultrasound machine, including AI-powered tools that can assist with measurements.
- Use Color Doppler: Utilize color Doppler to identify blood flow and rule out the presence of the umbilical cord in amniotic fluid pockets. Gegor supports this by saying, „If you have any question whether there’s cord in a pocket or not, then using the color dropper will help you to be able to rule that out, so it’s definitely a good tool.“
Benefits of POCUS for Midwives
- Enhanced Clinical Decision Making: POCUS provides real-time information that can inform clinical decisions and improve patient care.
- Improved Patient Outcomes: Early detection of potential complications can lead to timely interventions and better outcomes for both mother and baby.
- Increased Patient Satisfaction: POCUS empowers midwives to provide more comprehensive care and fosters greater patient engagement.
- Greater Autonomy: POCUS allows midwives to perform certain assessments and monitor fetal well-being independently.
1st Trimester Ultrasound Essentials for Midwives
If you’re interested in highlights from Carolyn’s first webinar, read it here.
Streamline OB Exams with AI-Powered Clarius Ultrasound
With best-in-class imaging and affordable pricing, Clarius handheld ultrasound is the ideal system to add to your women’s health practice for quick exams to impress parents to be.
Our new Clarius OB AI streamlines the process of obtaining and analyzing fetal measurements, ensuring timely and precise medical evaluations. Watch this video to see OB AI in action!
POCUS is transforming the landscape of midwifery practice, offering a powerful tool to enhance prenatal care and improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
Curious about Clarius for your practice? Schedule a personalized virtual demo. We’ll show you how easy it is to integrate handheld ultrasound into your workflow. We’ll customize the session to your needs and answer all your questions.
