4D Baby Ultrasound Scan

Although 4D Ultrasound may be used on any part of the body, elective 4D Ultrasound baby scan performed on pregnant women for the sole purpose of the family seeing their unborn baby - having a good idea what the baby looks like and to see whether the baby will be a boy or a girl.

The direct benefit of 4D Ultrasound is to reduce maternal stress during pregnancy and to have a permanent record of the baby scan in-utero to look back on. Most women worry continuously about the health of their baby. After the 20 week ultrasound scan most women will not see their baby again until birth and 20 weeks is a long time to carry something that you cannot see. Should the baby be quiet and not move a lot the mother worries that there is something wrong. Misinformation by parents, grandparents, other pregnant women along with a plethora of old wives tales gives the expectant mother cause to worry.

Expectant fathers generally feel excluded during pregnancy and have little or no connection to the life growing inside the mother. 4D Ultrasound baby scan allows them to be involved, to see their baby for themselves, to start that unbreakable bond between father and child. To many dads-to-be the first sight of their baby is a very emotional experience.

The arrival of a new baby can bring many changes to a family, parents spend a lot of energy on preparations before and after the baby arrives. Much of the family's attention involves meeting the newborn's basic needs. All this change can be hard for older siblings to handle. It's common for them to feel jealousy toward the newborn and to react to the upheaval by acting out. By seeing the baby inside Mummy, 4D Ultrasound has been shown to help siblings form strong bonds with the baby and in some cases even turn feelings of jealousy, being ignored and left out into feelings of excitement, expectation and love.

For most parents seeing the baby through 4D Ultrasound is a truly unique experience. The ability to see your child’s face, watch them smile, open their eyes, yawn and suck its thumb is awe inspiring and very emotional. The technology is absolutely remarkable.

Without doubt, Early Image 4D Ultrasound is a wonderful experience that all parents-to-be, along with their family and close friends, rave about. It is so much more than just having a 4d baby scan. Unlike most cold and impersonal imaging centres, Early Image provides a luxurious setting resembling a hotel suite with big sofas that can seat 8 people and a fully functional playroom for kids. As you watch your baby along with Mum and Dad, grandparents and close friends on a huge, wall mounted, plasma screen your favourite music plays through the surround sound system and records onto DVD with the baby.

Early Image suggest that for best results 4D Ultrasound is carried out between 28–35 weeks for a single baby and between 23 and 27 weeks for twins. Using 4D Ultrasound under 17 weeks may actually decrease parental bonding and give a feeling to the expectant parents that the baby is alien looking or "not really a baby yet." (Kurjak et al., How useful is 3D and 4D ultrasound in perinatal medicine? (J. Perinatal Medicine, 2007).

After the 36th week, the babies grow too big and the risk that the fetus has already engaged (descended into the pelvis). This makes 4D Ultrasound difficult and sometimes getting good images of the fetus is nearly impossible. As the baby is bigger there is less room so it is even more difficult to get a nice image.