On Tuesday night’s results show, it was Kim Kardashian who packed up her dancing shoes and headed home. She and Cloris Leachman were in the bottom two couples, and frankly Cloris is a lot more entertaining to watch on the dance floor. Kim is a very pretty girl, but I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward and embarrassed for her every time she step foot on the stage. Dancing just doesn’t come naturally for her, and it definitely showed. But no worries. I’m sure she’ll continue to find success on reality television - just not on a dance show.

Hey, there’s still time to throw your name in our online hat to win 4 tickets to a great kids show (The Gruffalo) at the Walton Arts Center plus dinner at Jose’s Mexican Restaurant. But you’ve got to enter by 6 p.m. Wednesday (today!), so CLICK HERE TO GET THE DETAILS or send us an e-mail at mamas@nwaMotherlode.com. Good luck! We’ll announce the winner on Thursday.

By Gwen Rockwood

Most mothers and expectant mothers know the intense mix of emotions you feel while lying on the exam table, waiting for your ultrasound to begin. Part of you is so excited you can hardly wait, and the other part of you is so scared you’re holding your breath. Your mind races with twenty questions at once: Is it a boy or a girl? Will we see 10 fingers and toes? Is she healthy? What if something is wrong?

With the anxiety and excitement swirling together, it’s good to have someone calm behind the scope of the ultrasound machine – someone who’s trained to give your unborn baby as thorough a check-up as ultrasound technology will allow. That’s where Dr. Lindley Diacon comes in. He and his team of sonographers at Mercy Health System have been giving parents a glimpse into the womb to see how their baby is developing. Though he downplays his national renown, Dr. Diacon is actively shaping the way ultrasound technology is used nationwide. He sits on the board of the Practice Accreditation Council of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and is one of the physicians writing the exam all ultrasound technicians must pass to be certified.

How does it work?

Ultrasound works by using sonar waves. These sound waves are sent into the body and reflected back, providing a picture. In recent years, we’ve begun to hear references to different “levels” of ultrasound exams, like Level 1 or Level 2. Dr. Diacon said the difference between a Level 1 and Level 2 exam is pretty simple. Level 1 is a basic exam, and Level 2 is a more detailed exam that screens for problems more difficult to spot.

Patients with extremely high risk pregnancies often see a perinatologist – a physician with extensive training in high risk obstetrics as well as ultrasound technology. (Currently there are no perinatologists practicing in Northwest Arkansas, although there are some in Little Rock, Joplin and Springfield.)

To ensure that your ultrasound is being done by someone qualified, you can ask if the person is a registered sonographer with the American Registry of Diagnostic Sonography.

3D and 4D Ultrasounds

Advancing technology in ultrasound equipment, such as 3-D and 4-D ultrasound, has enhanced the experience and provides some great pictures for the baby book. Mercy Health System recently bought a new 4-D machine that gives highly detailed photos of babies in utero. “You can really see the details of the face, so much so that you can sometimes see family resemblance,” Diacon said. “It’s really fun.”

But if you don’t have access to a 4-D ultrasound, Dr. Diacon said you shouldn’t worry that your exam is not as accurate. A basic exam on a machine without 3-D capability is still an excellent tool for catching problems early. “From a diagnosis standpoint, you’re not really missing anything if you can’t get a 4-D ultrasound,” Diacon said.

Ultrasound “Parlors”

Ten years ago ultrasound parlors didn’t even exist, but today it’s not uncommon to see a pregnant woman walk into a small shop in a strip mall and come out carrying photos of her unborn child. Dr. Diacon has reservations about this use of ultrasound and said the FDA has put out some strong statements about these types of places.

“You need to understand that these ultrasound parlors are not doing a diagnostic exam,” Diacon said. “These types of ultrasounds sometimes give parents a false sense of security.”

Medical advancements

The latest improvements in ultrasound technology mean good news for parents. Dr. Diacon said prenatal ultrasounds are getting better at detecting fetal heart defects. And early ultrasounds done between 11 and 14 weeks gestation are now better at diagnosing chromosome problems like Down Syndrome. (Ask your sonographer about the six “soft markers” for Down Syndrome.)

A Day In The Life

Believe it or not, Dr. Diacon does up to 30 ultrasounds a day. He said he usually starts his day doing ultrasounds on gall bladders, livers and abdomens and then moves on to vascular exams and OB patients. But it’s obvious when talking with him that expectant parents are a special part of his job.

“It’s great because 98 percent of the time, things are fine with the baby and I love talking to the patients. I get a kick out of watching them watch their baby,” Dr. Diacon said. “And when things are not fine, I can be there to share their sorrow and reassure the mother that it’s not her fault. That’s such an important thing for a woman to know.”

Sneak Peek at a Miracle

A final question for Dr. Diacon: “What was your most memorable ultrasound and why?” He answered with this story:

A patient had a certain genetic condition that has a 50 percent chance of being passed to her children. The condition is so severe that any child born with it dies in infancy. The woman and her husband had already suffered through the loss of two babies but had not given up on the dream of having children. Dr. Diacon performed the ultrasound during their third pregnancy, and, after a long, tense examination, told the couple that this baby did not have the genetic disorder. This baby would live.

“I’ll never forget that moment,” Diacon said. “They were so overcome with joy and relief. I really bonded with them and, several months later, I even had the chance to be there during that baby’s birth.”

Dr. Lin Diacon is the head of the Central Imaging department for Mercy Medical Clinic. (Click here to read more about Dr. Diacon’s work with bone density scans.) For more information on ultrasound technology, visit the Fetal Medicine Foundation website. http://www.fetalmedicine.com/

By Kim Blakely, Mojo’s mama

I think I might have finally figured out what I need to do to get pregnant. (Besides that.)

I need to take a trip. I’ve heard for years that a vacation ups your chance of conception, but I always thought that was a big ol’ lie dreamed up by the tourism industry. (Well, them and those annoyingly fertile people who insist that if I would just relax I could get knocked up already.)

Silly me.

Maybe I’ve just taken the wrong kinds of vacations. Maybe I needed a “special” vacation. Now, I’m trying to decide if I should give the “Fertile Turtle” package at the Marco Island Florida Marriott Beach Resort a shot or go straight for a dip in the fertility water of Kununurra in Western Australia.

What do you think?

The Fertile Turtle package includes a king-size bed and private balcony (Sounds like a perfect place to hang out with a good book, no? But … oh, wait … it’s possible you’re supposed to be engaging in less solitary activities.). There’s also a “welcome amenity” of red clover and raspberry teas, a couples’ massage with chaste berry and “fertility-promoting” aromatherapy, and a mysterious “authentic Balinese” gift to commemorate the occasion.

Rates range from $419 to $689 per night, and a portion of the package proceeds will benefit the sea turtle monitoring and protection project of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

Hmmmm…

It seems like a bad sign to me that the hotel offers a complimentary 3-night stay to couples who conceive during their visit (a birth certificate and proof that you stayed within 8 to 10 months of the birth date are required). I mean, if there was really a strong likelihood that a stay there would work, would the hotel really be as likely to offer such a gift?

Traveling to the Outback is bound to be more expensive than a trip to Florida but then Nicole Kidman, who suffered a miscarriage and years of infertility back when she was married to Tom Cruise, gives the waters there all the credit in the world for her pregnancy with little Sunday Rose.

That’s definitely something to think about. And it’s bound to be cheaper than IVF (without the benefit of insurance, at least).

I better hurry, though … I bet those waterfalls are so crowded with infertiles by now that I’d be lucky to get my big toe in.

Something else [I thought was] worth considering is this neat little PTeq USB pregnancy and ovulation prediction test I saw advertised online a while back. (Please note: I’m terribly embarrassed to admit how excited I was to see that someone had come up with such a neat-o-bandolito device … until I realized it was actually an April Fool’s joke. And yet, here I am, sharing with all of you anyway. I know! You must feel so fortunate, each and every one of you.)

The faux test, priced at about $20 – including 20 test strips – was described as having an absorbent strip at one end. The other end was meant to be stuck into the USB port of your home computer. It supposedly completed all manner of hormonal analyses, and all that data was to magically appear on the screen.

Sounds too good to be true, right? And it is. Oh well.

Anyway, it’s good to know my options aren’t up just yet. But as gullible as I am, I’m even more frugal (and with good reason! Have you seen what’s going on with the economy lately?!). I think the biggest trip I’ll be taking anytime soon will be to my doctor’s office to ask for a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist who might be able to help me right here in my hometown. My appointment is Thursday.