Instructions before your appointment
- Please arrive 10 minutes before your appointment to register yourself with our receptionists.
- If your pregnancy is being monitored elsewhere, please remember to bring your appointment letter with you.
- The consultant who performs the scan is responsible for ensuring this is a genuine medical examination that takes place in optimal conditions of calmness and concentration. This is why this appointment is exclusively for parents; children are not permitted to attend.
- Please note that for medical and legal reasons, filming the scan is prohibited.
- Avoid using stretch mark creams in the 24 hours leading up to the scan.
- Please ensure that your mobile phone is set to silent mode during the scan.
Three screening scans are scheduled during pregnancy, at around 12 weeks, 22 weeks and 32 weeks.
They are painless and safe.
Each one will provide different and important information about your baby.
This is a moment you often look forward to eagerly, as it allows you to see your foetus.
You also expect us to reassure you about your foetus’ health.
First-trimester ultrasound scan
This is carried out between 11 weeks and 13 weeks and 6 days after the first missed period.
The purpose of this scan is to determine the gestational age of your pregnancy and to examine the foetus for any signs of chromosomal abnormalities.
If you wish to have an NIPT, we will complete the request form sent to you by your gynaecologist or midwife.
Pre-eclampsia screening is available for your gynaecologist, as during this ultrasound scan, we also measure the uterine artery resistance index.
The second-trimester ultrasound scan
This ultrasound scan is important.
Ideally, it is carried out between the 20th and 24th week of gestation; this is known as the ‘morphological’ scan
This scan is essential to ensure that the foetus is growing well, but also to screen for certain abnormalities and, if necessary, to decide on specific ultrasound monitoring.
This scan is performed by an experienced sonographer with additional qualifications in ultrasound.
The third-trimester ultrasound scan
This scan is carried out between the 31st and 34th weeks of pregnancy.
It allows the vitality of your foetus, its position, and its growth to be assessed through various measurements.
The sonographer will also check the quality of the exchange between you and your foetus through the placenta.
Following this scan, a decision will be made as to whether any special arrangements are required for monitoring towards the end of pregnancy (ultrasound scans, late-pregnancy monitoring, etc.) or during the birth, following discussion with your gynaecologist or midwife.
