[THE IMPACT OF 3D ULTRASOUND ON MATERNAL-FETAL BONDING DURING THE FETAL ANOMALY SCAN IN THE FIRST AND SECOND...

To assess the role of prenatal conventional (2D) and volume (3D/4D) ultrasound on maternal-fetal bonding and to investigate its emotional impact on women's perceptions.

Overall 133 pregnant women with a mean maternal age 29.81 ± 5.56 years presented for a routine first and second trimester scan in MC "Markovs" and University hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology "Maichin dom", Sofia, Bulgaria. All participants had uncomplicated singleton pregnancies with no fetal abnormalities. The women were asked to complete a questionnaire in two parts. The first part assessed the patient's understanding and knowledge about the different imaging modalities (2D and 3D), the level of maternal-fetal attachment and the overall expectations about the scan. The second part of the questionnaire was completed after the examination and assessed the expectations of the mode of visualization, the emotional perceptions of the fetus and the maternal-fetal attachment.

Maternal-fetal bonding increased after both the 2D and 3D/4D ultrasound examination. However, almost half of the pregnant women did not understand the difference between the two imaging modalities. There was no accumulative effect of prenatal ultrasound on maternal-fetal bonding in late gestation. Most of the patients declared that the scan had improved their overall perception of the fetus. Maternal age, educational status and gestational age had no significant impact on understanding and improving womens' emotional perceptions.

Prenatal 2D and 3D/4D ultrasound has a positive impact on antenatal emotional maternal-fetal bonding, particularly when performed in the first trimester.