Oh baby, look at you! My first 4D scan

Pregnant mums who can’t wait to see if baby has her nose or daddy’s ears are getting sneak previews at an Oxfordshire clinic.

4D technology means proud parents’ first video of their off-spring can be taken before he or she is even born.

“Most people are amazed by the clarity of the 4D image and surprised at just how ‘real’ the baby looks,” says Dr Victoria Heath, of Beard Mill Clinic in Stanton Harcourt, who specialises in pregnancy scans. “Parents often spend a long time debating whose nose or lips the baby has and who it looks like. “It is particularly exciting when the baby moves or pulls different faces.”

Dr Heath’s interest in obstetrics was sparked as a medical student. “I spent a summer working in a mission hospital in Kampala, Uganda,” she says. “We weren’t allowed out of the hospital in the evenings and ended up spending every evening on the labour ward where there was always something going on. From that point onwards I knew that I wanted to go into obstetrics.

“During my Obstetric training I was lucky enough to get a research fellowship working with Prof Kypros Nicolaides [a world expert in foetal surgery and interventions] and realised the potential benefits of ultrasound in improving obstetric care and have never looked back.”

Dr Heath offers a wide range of scans at her private clinic. “Patients will come to me if they want an early scan or something after their NHS anomaly scan as these aren’t available on the NHS without a specific indication,” she says.

“But people will often come to me for their routine 12 and 20 week scans too as I am able to give patients a bit more time: early scans appointments are 30 minutes long and all others are 60 minutes. “So parents have plenty of time to see the baby and I spend lots of time explaining my findings, both during the scan and then afterwards and give the patients time to ask questions.

“With the 12-week scan I am able to look at extra markers for Down’s syndrome that the NHS aren’t able to look at and provide some extra reassurance and accuracy.”

4D scanning has been around for the last 10 years but isn’t routinely available. “Although it creates lovely images of the baby, it doesn’t add much diagnostically over and above what can be seen in 2D, so most people still just use 2D imaging for routine scans, but by 26 weeks, the baby is starting to get a bit chubbier and you can get some great 3D/4D images of the face,” says Dr Heath, mum to Cecily, 14, Lottie, 12 and Freddie, 10 (“I had lots of scans with all three of them. 4D scans weren’t around with the girls, but I did have a peak at Freddie in 4D”).

And whether a scan is being done for medical reasons or sentimental ones, Dr Heath says: “I like to approach every scan as a ‘proper’ scan to make sure that I don’t miss anything.” Sometimes that means she spots something wrong when women come along for a routine scan. “This is always incredibly difficult as I hate breaking bad news, but I do think it makes a difference if it is done sympathetically and I see it as a challenge to try to provide as much information as possible and support the patient through a very difficult time,” she says.

And her job can be very rewarding. “I get the greatest satisfaction from reassuring patients that all is well and giving them the chance to enjoy their pregnancy,” she says. “Patients are sometimes so worried that something might be wrong, but a normal scan changes all that.

“I love seeing how patients react to seeing their baby for the first time and hearing its heartbeat.”

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'This takes baby scanning to a new level'

Sales representative Katrina Thornton went along for a scan at Beard Mill with her fiance, company director Mark Green,45.
 

Here’s what she had to say:
“With two 10-year-old sons already in the bag, some might think that there are better ideas than having a third baby.

“But although by now I know the stress and strains involved with new born babies, I was thrilled to be expecting a sibling for my two sons Jamie and Daniel.

“This excitement was doubled when at our gender scan we were told that we were having a little girl.

“I had seen images of 3D and 4D scanning on the internet and was really keen to have one for our baby.

“Ten years ago, these types of scans were not available. The 2D scans that were performed routinely with both of my previous pregnancies – my sons aren’t twins, they would have been a year apart but Daniel was two months premature – were wonderful and did show my babies in fairly good detail, however, 4D takes scanning to a whole new level.

“The images on the screen were incredible and really give you a good idea of what your baby is going to look like when he or she arrives.

“4D scanning is similar to 3D, the main difference being that it is a moving image, a short video clip.

“We had used Beard Mill Clinic previously for our dating scan, nuchal scan and gender scan. We really liked Victoria and felt confident that we were in good hands.

“The 4D scan costs £200. There are cheaper 4D scans available – outside of Oxford – however, many of these will not involve any medical checks for the baby and are purely cosmetic. Therefore, I feel a few extra pounds is well worth the peace of mind that comes with having the scan performed by Victoria, who will be checking that your baby is healthy (as well as cute!).

“A 4D scan is performed in exactly the same way as a 2D scan. Once the baby is in the right position, Victoria starts recording the movements.

“I was amazed at how clear the images were.

“It is incredible to be able to see your baby so clearly whilst they are still inside you.

“The scan is best performed between 26 and 28 weeks and takes around an hour.

“I would highly recommend this scan to mums-to-be.”