Faces
We spend a lot of time looking at faces - to introduce families to their newest additions and to provide an additional source of diagnostic information for ourselves. High resolution 3D ultrasound imaging has been a big advance in depicting faces, especially early in pregnancy.
One obvious reason to look at the face is to identify or exclude a structural abnormality like a cleft lip or asymmetrical orbits or to recognize the marked variation in appearance that can occur with some syndromes.
Fat deposition in the cheeks tells us something about growth. White fat is deposited in the abdominal wall progressively after 28 weeks, but buccal (cheek) fat appears before 16 weeks GA, so this is a feature that is in the first hald of pregnancy as well as later.
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The main information we seek later in pregnancy is to try to determine if the fetus healthy or if he or she is in a precarious state that will be best resolved by prompt delivery.
The face is, after all, an organ of communication. We look at expressions. Does this child look peaceful, serene, and content or does he or she appear to be distressed, unhappy, or in pain?
We let the fetus tell us whether the intrauterine environment is supportive or hostile. This is, after all, what every parent does after birth: does my child look (and sound) healthy or not. |
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