Doctors' Digest

Private Pregnancy Scans

When you are pregnant, you’re offered two, or at the most, three, ultrasound pregnancy scans on the NHS. The number and timing of the scans seem to vary depending on which area you live in and your age, but as a general rule you will have a scan at about 12 weeks (a nuchal scan or dating scan), and another at around 20 weeks (a mid-trimester or anomaly scan). At this second scan, you may be able to find out whether you’re having a girl or boy. This article on private pregnancy ultrasound baby scans is written by Jackie Griffiths, a freelance journalist who writes health, medical, biological, and pharmaceutical articles for national and international journals, newsletters and web sites. Remember to tell the sonographer straight away if you don’t want to know. Also, some hospitals may have a policy not to tell parents the sex of the baby, so it’s best to check with them before your pregnancy scan, and if you’re keen to know book with another hospital. Remember also that there’s no guarantee the sonographer will be able to say for certain as sometimes babies lie in a position where it’s impossible to tell.