What happens at dating scan

You won't be offered the combined screening test if your dating scan happens after 14 weeks. Instead, you will be offered another blood test between 14 and 20 .
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If you choose to have a dating scan, it will most probably be your first scan. You will need to get a referral from your doctor or midwife for a dating scan. A dating scan is carried out by ultrasound. A sonographer, who is usually a radiographer or a midwife trained in ultrasound, will complete your scan. If the scan is after 10 weeks, ultrasound recordings are usually made through your abdomen. The sonographer will put gel on your abdomen and move a hand-held device called a transducer, back and forward over your skin.

How is a dating scan performed?

In some situations, such as when the scan is completed before 10 weeks of gestation or you are overweight, you may also need a vaginal scan. Your sonographer will let you know if this is needed. For an abdominal dating ultrasound, you will need to have a full bladder.

What is the purpose of the dating scan?

You may be asked to drink some water and not go to the toilet beforehand because a full bladder helps to push your womb up to give a better picture. For a vaginal scan, you can have an empty bladder. This will provide a fairly accurate estimate of how many weeks pregnant you are. But it is important to remember that only a few women go into labour on their due date, so it can be more helpful to think about the month in which you are expecting your baby, rather than the exact day.

Information on pregnancy ultrasound scans including when they are taken, what it can be used for, dating scans, anomaly scans, plus links to trusted resources.

Can you only have your 12-week scan at 12 weeks?

This Dads Guide to Pregnancy article covers early pregnancy scans and screening, plus normal fetal development and early miscarriage for men, by men. In the second trimester of pregnancy, you may be offered to have an morphology scan anomaly scan. Learn about what it looks for and when it is performed. A nuchal translucency scan is part of the ultrasound scan that may give an indication of chromosomal abnormality. Learn more about how and when it is performed.

7 Week Pregnant Ultrasound Scan - Huggies

During your pregnancy, you will be offered a number of tests and scans. The aim is always to check on the health of you and your baby, but it can sometimes be overwhelming and confusing. Handy infographic that shows what you can expect at each antenatal appointment during your pregnancy. In the meantime, we will continue to update and add content to Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to meet your information needs.

This information is for your general information and use only and is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes. The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care.


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If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional. Access trusted, quality health information and advice Visit healthdirect. Access quality information from pregnancy planning through to early parenthood Visit Pregnancy, Birth and Baby. You'll be asked to arrive with a full bladder. The scan itself will take about 15 to 30 minutes but you may need to hang about for a while in the waiting room beforehand — which can be tricky when you've just drunk all that water!

But don't be tempted to skip the water drinking for that reason. It's best to wear trousers or a skirt and a top, rather than a dress, as once you're in the dimly lit room, you'll be asked to lie on your back on a couch and adjust your clothes to expose your bump. Then the sonographer will put some gel on the skin of your tummy be ready: Once the gel's on, the sonographer will place the transducer — which looks a bit like a computer mouse or a small paint roller — onto your bump and move it around, allowing the high-frequency sound waves produced by the transducer to bounce off your belly and create a picture on the sonographer's monitor.

As the transducer gets to work, a black-and-white image of your baby will appear on the monitor that the sonographer is looking at.

Time for your 12-week scan? Here's what to expect...

Often, you can see the screen too, or it'll be turned towards you after a few moments — but not always. And, if the pregnancy is progressing well, you'll also see a clear heartbeat. Costs for these vary, and aren't always flagged up in advance, so do make sure you take some cash with you.

Your partner or another close relative will always be welcome to come with you but it's totally up to you, of course. Most mums-to-be would probably say it's a good idea to have some company, especially if you're anxious about the scan. Private providers may offer this earlier, however. If you fancy having fun predicting your baby's sex yourself, there are several theories you can try out once you have your week scan photo. In order to get the full results, the findings of the nuchal translucency NT part of your scan need to be combined with the findings of your blood test.

If you haven't had your blood test yet timings of these tests do vary from hospital to hospital or if your blood test results haven't come through in time for both results to be combined into the final result, you'll have to wait to get this result from your midwife at a later date do ask when that's likely to be. You may find that your EDD is quite a few days later or earlier than you thought.


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You'll also be told whether you're having twins, triplets or more — though you'll probably have noticed that already on the scan monitor! Of course, you're anxious as well as excited at the idea of seeing your baby.

But it really does help to try to keep things in perspective: Even if there is an issue, it may well be something that turns out to be not that serious or something that can be easily managed by the specialists. And there's always a follow-up with support and advice. I was literally having an asthma attack by the time they called me in. But it was great.