home links bulletin board about what now? make a comment
scanquery2450 asks...
hi, i'm 24 weeks pregnant and i was just wondering where the nearest hospital is for me to get a 3d scan of the baby? also, how much would it cost, is it the same process as a normal scan and can i just book an appointment or do i need to be referred by a midwife or anything?
the hospital i currently go to is chorley... do they do 3d scans?
thank you ever so much!
What we suggest...
Hi scanquery2450!
Thanks for contacting q2a with your enquiry.
It can be really exciting to imagine being able to see your baby as soon as possible. It can be hard to believe that there is a real person in there and a scan can really help to make the baby feel real. We guess that you've already had the 2 scans usually offered so you probably know this already.
Scans are medical procedures and it is probably worth discussing with your healthcare provider - your gp or midwife, before choosing to go ahead with one to see whether they feel that this is a good idea for you and the baby. Issues and information you may want to consider about scans are included nearer the end of this email.
It is important to ask yourself why you want to have this done and who it will really benefit. Some people believe that babies find scans unpleasant and try to move away from them which in their small space is difficult. On the videos of the 3/4d scans some babies hands can be seen to be around their heads.
Waiting for a baby can feel like waiting for Christmas but it's important to remember that Christmas can be more special when you don't peek through the wrapping on the presents and simply relax and enjoy the experience.
We haven't found any information about these scans in Chorley. The nearest places coming up on the internet are Babybond Manchester and Bay Scan, Lancaster. These are commercially set up.
Baby Bond's contact details are;
http://www.babybond.com/choosingascan.php#fourd
162 Manchester Road
Chorlton
Manchester
M16 0DZ
Tel: 0161 860 6161 . We rang them but they were unable at that time to give a price.
email: manchester@babybond.com .
Bay Scan, Parkfield, Greaves Rd, Lancaster LA1 4TZ
Email:info@bayscan.co.uk
Tel/Fax: 01524 39603
http://www.bayscan.co.uk/scan-packages.php
Their prices are; 3D/4D (26-32 weeks) - £120
This is a comprehensive scan. Using both 2D, 3D and 4D (4D is 3D with the added dimension of movement). You will be talked through the scan in detail, giving you a much greater understanding of what you are actually seeing on screen. They will measure your baby to check the growth. You can find out the gender of your baby if requested and they can avoid the gender for parents keen not to know the sex of their baby. You get an approx 10 minute DVD, CDrom containing all your scan images (approx 20 images) and 4 high quality gloss prints.
Optional keyrings with favourite baby photo are £3 + £1 P&P.
EXTRAS:
DVD (subsequent copies) £5
CD Additional copy £5
Keyrings+£1 p&p £3
Gloss prints (per copy) £5
It is important to consider views on unnecessary medical procedures as there may be risk to the baby's health through scans. Here are some concerns that we have found; The first is from http://educate-yourself.org/cn/2001/ultrasoundandbraindamage19dec01.shtml;
Beverley Beech, the chairman of the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services, criticised doctors for insisting for years that ultrasound was totally safe. "I am not sure at all that the benefits of ultrasound scans outweigh the downsides," said Ms Beech. "We should be advising women to think very, very carefully before they have scans at all."
However, necessary ultrasound scanning has saved the lives of countless babies.
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp?q=ultrasound says 'Once again it is interesting to look at what happened with the issue of safety of X-rays during pregnancy. X-rays were used on pregnant women for almost fifty years and assumed to be safe. In 1937, a standard textbook on antenatal care stated: "It has been frequently asked whether there is any danger to the life of the child by the passage of X- rays through it; it can be said at once there is none if the examination is carried out by a competent radiologist or radiographer." A later edition of the same textbook stated: "It is now known that the unrestricted use of X-rays through the fetus caused childhood cancer." This story illustrates the danger of assuming safety. In this regard, a statement from a 1978 textbook is relevant: "One of the great virtues of diagnostic ultrasound has been its apparent safety. At present energy levels, diagnostic ultrasound appears to be without injurious effect . . . all the available evidence suggests that it is a very safe modality."By following up on children at age eight or nine born of mothers who had taken part in two controlled trials of routine ultrasound in pregnancy, they were able to show that routine ultrasonography was associated with a symptom of possible neurological problems.
Safety is also clearly related to the skill of the ultrasound operator. At present, there is no known training or certification for medical users of ultrasound apparatus in any country. In other words, the birth machine has no license test for its drivers.'
This following research is from http://www.compleatmother.com/ultrasound_danger.htm
'New research has raised doubts over the safety of ultrasound scans used to view fetuses in the womb. Scientists have called for further research to determine whether safety limits should be reviewed for the tests, which are also used to check internal organs in children and adults. Since the early 1990s, when American researchers showed that ultrasound tissue heating can cause bleeding in mouse intestines, ultrasonographers tune the power of scans to reduce heating. The latest discovery, by scientists at University College Dublin, is the first to find that scans create changes in cells. Patrick Brennan, who led the research, said: "It has been assumed for a long time that ultrasound has no effect on cells. We now have grounds to question that assumption."
The researchers gave 12 mice an eight megahertz scan lasting for 15 minutes. Hospital scans can last for up to an hour, using frequencies of between three and 10 megahertz. According to today's New Scientist, two significant changes in the cells of the small intestine were detected in scanned mice compared with unscanned mice. Four and a half hours after exposure, the rate of cell division had reduced by 22 per cent and the rate of programmed cell death had approximately doubled. Mr. Brennan believes there will be similar effects in humans.
COMMENT (from the website) : It would certainly seem prudent to avoid all routine absolutely unnecessary ultrasound scans for fetal observation. There appears to be more than enough evidence to warrant this recommendation. Pregnancy complications are another issue and one would have to weigh all the factors individually when attempting to determine the benefit/risk ratio.'
From New Scientist ISSUE 1476 Thursday 10 June 1999
Later in the above article it says that this experiment has'nt been proved but warns;
'The heating effect of ultrasound has also been proven before. Good scientists have tried to alert the public about the danger to a baby's brain of having ultrasound scans. Because the head is bowl shaped, the radiation is magnified and can result in parts of the brain being subjected to extra high intensities.'
We hope this information in this email enables you to make an informed decision and doesn't sound too scary.
Best wishes throughout your pregnancy, baby's birth and beyond. Please contact us again if you need any information on any subject.
q2a
Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
here's what i think about ...