4D Baby Images

We are expecting our second child in September and as we had a 4D scan done the first time we decided to have it done for the second.
We chose to use the same company as we used the first time as the service was great and pretty good value.

These things still amaze me, then again I think even the 2D ultrasounds at the hospital are pretty good (would love to play with one of those machines ).

To quote good ol’ wikiPedia…

3D ultrasound is a medical ultrasound technique, often used during pregnancy, providing three dimensional images of the fetus.

There are several different scanning modes in medical and obstetric ultrasound. The standard common obstetric diagnostic mode is 2D scanning.¹ In 3D fetal scanning, however, instead of the sound waves being sent straight down and reflected back, they are sent at different angles. The returning echoes are processed by a sophisticated computer program resulting in a reconstructed three dimensional volume image of fetus’s surface or internal organs, in much the same way as a CT scan machine constructs a CT scan image from multiple x-rays. 3D ultrasounds allow one to see width, height and depth of images in much the same way as 3D movies but no movement is shown.

3D ultrasound was first developed by Olaf von Ramm and Stephen Smith at Duke University in 1987.²

The extra 4D is the movement (ie you get a DVD too and can see the baby move!)

Back to the review…
We chose to use 4D Baby Images who have a few sites in the UK, we went to the Brentwood branch. Just a note here – parking in Brentwood is a bit hit-and-miss; and evenings are especially bad as the nightlife is pretty popular – arrive extra early to allow for going round the one way system a few times first looking for somewhere to park!
Once you’re there though everything is fine. Upon arrival there are a few forms to fill in, but the waiting area is comfy with complimentary drinks available and plenty of chairs. If you have other children with you watch out for a staircase leading to the basement though that could do with a stairgate!
The scans take place upstairs and the softly lit rooms are warm and there’s plenty of room for extra people to come with you.
On the wall is a decent sized TV to view the live feed of the scan and it is the video from this that is recorded for you to take home on DVD (may depend on the package you choose)
The people doing the scan are way friendlier than the ones we have seen at the hospital and do a great job of putting Mum at ease and explaining what you can see and what they are doing.

So onto the scan itself… It’s pretty simple…

You get to see your unborn child in 3D how cool is that!!!

The scan will switch between 2D (normal ultrasound) and 3D a few times. The difference in 3D/4D is amazing, while in 2D you get a sense of the profile of the babies head in 3D you see the whole face and features!
From our previous child I can attest that the likeness is very good
It does depend a little on how co-operative the baby is on the day. The first time we went little one had her arms and legs in front of her face, so the view was quite limited. The staff are very good in these situations though and will send you for a walk/fizzy drink/chocolate etc to try and get the baby to move. I’d think it’s unlikely that you’d come away with nothing. Depending on the package they do offer rescans in which case you can return a few weeks later at a different time and see if baby will behave!
The scan lasts about 30mins (rescans 15mins) and afterwards you sit down with one of the staff to go through your pictures and DVD. You can choose prints of your favourite pictures and mounts are available on the day. There’s no wait for everything as it is all produced there and then.
The DVDs play on pretty much anything, and are helpfully split into a few chapters. They are also dead simple to rip into iTunes so you can keep them on your iPod etc – easy to show friends that way (iPad is great for this)

In conclusion we were thrilled with the scan and the service received! Not long now till we see the new baby for real, but was great to have a sneak peek (plus find out what we were having to help with the shopping he he). We’d happily recommend this to anyone!