Following on from my previous post Should I have an early pregnancy scan? I wanted to look at the two standard scans that are offered to women in pregnancy. You will usually be offered a scan at 12 weeks and another scan at 20 weeks. If you want information on where to get private scans, check out my Ultimate Pregnancy Guide for Solihull and Birmingham on my freebies page.

Where will I have my scans?

You will usually have your scans at the hospital where you plan to give birth. So if you are booked in at the Bluebell Centre (Warwick), your scans will be down at Warwick. If you are booked in at Birmingham Women’s or with the homebirth team, then your scans will be at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. However, if you are booked in at Heartlands, it may still be possible for you to have your scans at Solihull Hospital if that is more convenient for you.

You will usually be offered two scans during your pregnancy: one at 12 weeks and one at 20 weeks. So what will happen at these scans?

What happens at my 12 week scan?

·       The first key thing that will happen at the 12 week scan is confirmation that you have a viable pregnancy. They will check for a heartbeat and that there are no other obvious problems, such as an ectopic pregnancy.

·       They will confirm how many babies you’re having. If you haven’t had an early pregnancy scan, this will be the scan that confirms whether you’re having one, two or three (or more) babies!

·       You will have already been given at Estimated Due Date based on the first day of your last menstrual cycle but they will adjust this slightly based on the size of the foetus. However, be wary of placing too much importance on this – only 5% of babies are born on their due dates! Start thinking about a due month rather than a due date, it may drive you a little less crazy!

·       This scan will be the first check of any abnormalities in the foetus (although the 20 week scan does this in much more detail). If there are any concerns, you may be asked back for an additional scan.

·       They will do a Nuchal Translucency (NT) Measurement: This is a specific measurement of the fluid at the back of the baby's neck. An increased NT measurement can be associated with chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome.

·       They will check the placenta and amniotic fluid to ensure that everything looks as expected.

You will probably be asked to make sure that you go to the scan with a full bladder as this makes the baby much easier to see.

What happens at the 20 week scan?

The 20 week scan is also known as the anomaly scan. This is where your baby’s organs and spine are looked at in great detail to check that they are all healthy and growing as expected. This scan always amazes me – how the sonographer can differentiate between a liver and a stomach I’ll never know!

As well as checking all your baby’s vital organs, they will also check for physical abnormalities such as a cleft lip and palate or neural tube defects like spina bifida.

The sonographer will take measurements of your baby’s head, abdomen and femur to ensure that the your baby is growing at a healthy rate.

They will also check your placenta and umbilical cord again to ensure this is all working as expected at that the placenta is in a good position. If you have an anterior placenta (which means it is at the front of your bump), you may find it a little more difficult to feel your baby’s movements or may start feeling them later in pregnancy, especially if it is your first pregnancy, so this is important to know. You also want to be sure that the placenta is not near or covering your cervix as this may mean you will need a c-section. If this is the case at your 20 week scan, it is possible (and reasonably likely) that it will have moved by the time you come to give birth. You will be invited back for another scan later in pregnancy to confirm this.

Most excitingly for some, this will be the scan where you can find out the sex of your baby. If you don’t want to know this, then it’s a good idea to tell the sonographer when you enter the room, otherwise it may accidentally slip (it did for me!).

You will be offered photos of both your 12 week and 20 week scan which you may be expected to pay for so check with your midwife ahead of time. I have also heard of instances where hospitals are not willing to reveal the sex of the baby so if you want to know, ask at your 12 week scan whether it will be possible to find out. Otherwise, you may need to go for a private scan for this. With the increase in popularity of gender reveal parties, it may also be worth asking if this is something they can accommodate so that you take the sex of your baby away in an envelope to reveal later.

If either of your scans shows any potential problems, you will be invited for further scans later in your pregnancy.

Ultimate Pregnancy Guide for Solihull and Birmingham

If you want information where to get on private scans in Solihull and Birmingham, check out my Ultimate Pregnancy Guide for Solihull and Birmingham. You can find information on local hospitals, private scan clinics and local baby shops.