6 to 8-Week Ultrasound: What to Expect & Why It’s Important

Prepare for the journey of pregnancy with confidence. As soon as you see that positive home pregnancy test, embrace the excitement while understanding that there may be moments of slight panic.

Don’t worry—pregnancy provides time to process and learn. It’s best to take your exciting journey one step at a time.

After your pregnancy test, the next step on your path to parenthood is the 6 to 8-week ultrasound. This initial ultrasound will be the first of at least two that you’ll receive during pregnancy (the other is the 12-week ultrasound which is done to rule out genetic or developmental abnormalities in high risk women). To better understand this milestone, let’s explore what to expect during your 6 to 8-week ultrasound, and why it’s important.

Understanding Your 6 to 8-week Ultrasound

Experience the significant moment of your 6 to 8-week pregnancy ultrasound. This visit is unlike regular check-ups, as it marks the first ultrasound scan of your pregnancy. Also known as the early or dating ultrasound, it holds importance in determining the progress of your pregnancy.

At the 6 to 8-week pregnancy ultrasound, your doctor will:

• Confirm that you’re pregnant
• Check the baby’s heartbeat and cardiac activity
• Determine if the pregnancy is a single or or twin pregnancy
• Estimate your due date

Essentially, this first-trimester ultrasound confirms that you have a viable pregnancy and can start planning for your newest family member (or members). With the estimated due date in hand, that our pregnancy due date calculator can help you with too, you can officially start your countdown to baby.

What is an ultrasound?

Before we get into what you can expect during your appointment, let’s rewind and talk about ultrasounds in general. An ultrasound is a medical procedure that uses sound waves to construct images of the inside of your body. This allows doctors to evaluate the body’s internal organs and workings in a non-invasive manner.

Ultrasound scans can be used for many different medical reasons. Outside of pregnancy, ultrasounds can help:

• Diagnose health conditions
• Detect tumors
• Guide doctors during biopsies

What types of ultrasounds are used for pregnant women?

The type of ultrasound your doctor will perform during your pregnancy will depend on several factors, including how far along into the pregnancy you are and your medical history.

Let’s break down the various types of pregnancy ultrasounds and when they’re used.

• Transvaginal ultrasound – During a transvaginal ultrasound, a small probe that’s inserted a few inches into your vagina emits high-frequency sound waves to create a visual image of your baby and reproductive system. This type of ultrasound is used in early pregnancy (typically, between weeks 6 and 8) when your baby and uterus are still quite small and nestled deep inside your pelvis. By taking a look transvaginally, rather than transabdominally (i.e., over the abdomen), clearer images can be captured because the probe (and its sound waves) can get closer to your uterus.
• 2-D ultrasound – Also known as a standard ultrasound, this type of ultrasound is a transabdominal ultrasound, the doctor or technician will glide a wand over your abdomen to capture images of your baby. These ultrasounds are used starting around 8 weeks when your uterus has grown large enough to rest closer to your belly button (rather than resting deep inside your pelvis).
• 3-D ultrasound – A 3-D ultrasound, while still a transabdominal ultrasound scan, it uses more advanced technology than the 2-D version. This technology is often used during the second and third trimesters to provide parents with a unique keepsake, as well as to diagnose potential birth defects, such as a cleft palate.
• Doppler ultrasound – If you’re considered a high-risk pregnancy (for instance, if you’re over age 35 or have a history of miscarriage), your doctor may order a Doppler ultrasound. This procedure uses sound waves to measure the movement of your baby’s blood flow. It can also check the blood circulation in your uterus and placenta to ensure healthy blood flow during your second and third trimesters.

Now that you’re basically an ultrasound expert, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect during your 6 to 8-week ultrasound.

Here’s What You’ll Find Out During Your 6 to 8-Week Ultrasound

Six weeks might not seem like a significant amount of time—it’s barely enough time to develop a new habit. However, in the realm of baby-making, the time between weeks 6 and 8 is a period of serious growth and development.

Typically, you’ll have your first ultrasound when you’re 8 weeks pregnant. This is the case for most women. However, there are situations where your doctor might recommend an ultrasound as early as 6 or 7 weeks.

The Six-Week Ultrasound

A 6-week ultrasound is recommended when the mother has potential health risks. If you’re scheduled for a 6-week ultrasound, don’t panic. Scheduling this ultrasound is just your doctor’s way of ensuring your little one is healthy.

Your doctor may recommend a 6-week ultrasound due to:

• Medical history (for instance, if you suffer from high blood pressure)
• Age (over 35 is considered a high-risk pregnancy)
• Previous pregnancy complications (such as a pregnancy loss or bleeding during pregnancy)

At this stage of your pregnancy, you’ll need to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound. During the procedure, your doctor will look for several things, including:

• Fetal Heartbeat – The baby’s heartbeat is usually detectable by 6 weeks, although sometimes it can take a little longer.
• Yolk sac – The yolk sac is a small bubble-like structure within the gestational sac (the protective sac that contains the amniotic fluid). It typically develops around week 5 or 6 in pregnancy. The yolk sac provides critical nutrients to the growing fetus, so its presence (as well as its size and shape) help to inform about your baby’s health.
• Embryo – Your doctor will also check that the embryo has been implanted in the right place to confirm that you don’t have an ectopic pregnancy—a situation where the fertilized egg implants into one of the fallopian tubes or somewhere outside of the uterus.

The fetal pole may also be visible at this time—the structure that will eventually become recognizable as a fetus. At this early stage, the fetal pole will appear as an adorable gray blip, about the size of a sweet pea. Feel free to request a copy of your sonogram—it’s technically your baby’s first photo.

Your doctor can also measure the fetal pole to pinpoint exactly how far along you are in your pregnancy.

The Seven-Week Ultrasound

Similar to a 6-week ultrasound, a 7-week ultrasound is often requested by your doctor when they want to ensure healthy fetal development. At 7 weeks, your fetus is still too small for a standard ultrasound to capture clearly, so a 7-week ultrasound will also be performed transvaginally.

Your doctor will look for many of the same things they would during an earlier ultrasound, including:

• The gestational sac
• The yolk sac
• The heartbeat

If the fetal pole wasn’t visible at 6 weeks, it’d be visible now (but still look like a gray blip).

The Eight-Week Ultrasound

The 8-week ultrasound is typically a transabdominal procedure instead of a transvaginal one. This means you’ll get to experience the cold gel/wand-on-your-stomach procedure you likely associate with ultrasounds.

By 8 weeks, your little one is further developed. Along with the gestational and yolk sacs, heartbeat, and fetal pole, the embryo shape is more defined. Witness remarkable baby development during the 8 week scan, including:

• Visible head and body of the baby
• Development of facial features (eyes, nose, mouth)
• Formation of tiny arm and leg buds
• Possible visualization of the baby’s heartbeat

Why is a 6 to 8-week ultrasound important?

A 6 to 8-week ultrasound is an important step in ensuring that you have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

While 6 to 8-week ultrasounds allow your doctor to confirm your pregnancy, ensure proper fetal development, and give you an estimated due date, one thing these ultrasounds can’t tell is the sex of your baby. To learn that, you’ll have to wait for your transabdominal anatomy ultrasound, which typically takes place around the 18-week mark.

Or, you could ask SneakPeek.

Craving More Answers About Your Baby? SneakPeek Can Deliver

These early ultrasounds often leave new moms wanting to know more—especially whether they’re having a baby girl or boy. Discovering gender adds to the excitement of exploring baby names and planning the perfect baby shower.

At SneakPeek, we know how you feel. That’s why we developed the SneakPeek At-Home Early Gender Prediction Test and our Clinical Early Fetal Sex DNA Test.  At-Home Early Gender Prediction Test.

Our clinically-proven, over 99% accurate¹ gender test can tell you if you’re expecting a little girl or boy as early as 6 weeks into your pregnancy. Plus, the test can easily be taken in the comfort of your own home. It’s no wonder it’s the #1 OBGYN-recommended at-home gender test, trusted by over 1 million moms.

So don’t wait for more answers. Find out more, sooner, with SneakPeek.

If you have more questions like what weeks you get ultrasounds during pregnancy or when is the coveted boy or girl reveal ultrasound, read our linked blogs!

This post has been reviewed for accuracy by the following medical professional:

Dr. Heather Soper, Certified Nurse Midwife

Dr. Heather Soper brings over 15 years of experience in women's health and obstetrics to her role as the owner of The Genesis Resort for Birth. Complementing her clinical practice, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at James Madison University, where she educates nursing students with a focus on compassionate, patient-centered care. Her advanced training and dedication to midwifery are evident in her contribution to both academia and the wellness of expectant mothers.

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