If you have an anterior or front placenta, we recommend that you come right around 28 weeks.

Where the placenta is placed often affects the quality and ability to obtain pictures. If you are wanting to see Baby’s features well, and a fuller face with chubby cheeks, we recommend that you wait until after 28 weeks of pregnancy. We can often get great pictures of the whole baby curled up and moving around, and we can see the features of Baby’s face but they are still a little on the thinner side.

What Baby will look like depends on how far along you are. Many mothers choose to have more than one 3D/4D ultrasound to have images from their second and third trimesters to enjoy. 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy is a great time, however baby is still on the smaller and thinner side. Below are some examples of babies at different stages so you have an idea what to expect, and plan your visit. However excellent pictures with 3D can be obtained at almost any time of pregnancy. Third-trimester scans are sometimes recommended to women who have previously given birth to a baby with a low birth weight, who are carrying twins, or who have other medical complications.The best time for a 3D/4D ultrasound is 26 to 34 weeks gestation. The sex of the baby can also be determined at this time, if the parents want to know. Second-trimester scanĪ second-trimester scan (usually between weeks 18 and 20) checks for structural abnormalities, particularly in the baby's head or spine.

This scan can also help to determine whether the baby is developing inside the womb rather than outside it (a fertilised egg that implants and grows outside of the womb rather than inside the womb is called an ectopic pregnancy).Īlong with a blood test, the first-trimester scan can be used as a screening test for Down syndrome, but it is not a conclusive test for this chromosome disorder. First-trimester scanĪ first-trimester scan (usually between week 11 and week 14, also called a nuchal translucency test) confirms how many weeks pregnant the woman is and, therefore, the due date of the baby. Most women will be advised to have at least two ultrasound scans during their pregnancy - the first and second trimester scans.

Are 3d ultrasounds safe