Hi,

I'm a writer busy on an article about a pregnancy in 1995 in South Africa. I wonder if someone can help me with terms.

At 12 weeks, I had some sort of ultrasound (I think) to ascertain whether I had aborted my pregnancy. The gynecologist carried the machine into the room, so it was portable. He put a transducer (gadget) onto my lower abdomen. We heard the heart beat immediately.

He subsequently admitted the machine wasn't really sensitive enough to pick up a heartbeat so early in pregnancy. However it did - and the "dead fetus" was born on time and is now the father of two.

Any help with terminology would be appreciated.

Thank you from S.Africa

What terminology do you need help with?

Would it have been an "ultrasound" in those days? There was no visual, only audio. Otherwise what would it have been called? Also the metal gadget they used on my belly. Would that be called a transducer?

It was a long time ago and I've forgotten what these things were called, but for the sake of accuracy in writing I want to be certain I use the correct terminology.

Thanks for responding so quickly.