About specialist pregnancy scans and tests

7-12 week scan. (Included in pregnancy care package)

Early pregnancy viability scan or dating scan

Viability scans are performed at 7-11 weeks of pregnancy. Chrissie will usually scan ‘transabdominally’, through your tummy. If there is a concern about a possible ectopic pregnancy, this scan can be done at 6-7 weeks trans-vaginally. At this stage it is unlikely to see a heartbeat but it is possible to confirm that the pregnancy sac is in the uterus. The scan at 7-11 weeks can show how many embryos there are, confirm the presence of a heartbeat and confirm the number of weeks of your pregnancy.

Included in pregnancy care package

Nuchal translucency scan + bloods: £500

This is the first stage at which the fetus can be seen in greater detail. This scan confirms that there is a heartbeat, and the number of fetuses. Baby’s head, trunk, arms, legs, hands and feet can be seen. This scan will also look at the placenta, amniotic fluid and umbilical cord. Dr Yu will then measure the ‘nuchal fold’ or ‘nuchal translucency’ and the baby’s nose bone.

The nuchal translucency is the skin at the back of the baby’s neck. In some babies with problems such as Down Syndrome, and also in some normal babies, this can be enlarged by fluid. The nose bone can be small or absent in Down Syndrome babies. A blood sample will be taken from your arm and tested for two specific hormones. The result of this test will give you specific information about the level of risk of your baby having fetal abnormalities. This is called the combined test for Down Syndrome.

Not included in pregnancy care package

14-23 week scan. (Included in pregnancy care package)

Otherwise known as a reassurance scan. A scan is not usually necessary at this stage of your pregnancy, though it may be required if you have had bleeding or been unwell. It measures baby’s head, abdomen, and leg length and locates the placenta, the amniotic fluid and assesses the umbilical cord. The measurements will be plotted on a graph for you.

Included in pregnancy care package.

17-23 weeks sexing scan. (Included in pregnancy care package)

At this stage you can usually discover the sex of your baby with very reliable sexing. Dr Yu will only advise you of your baby’s sex if you ask. She will also measure your baby and assess its well-being.

Included in pregnancy care package.

Anomaly scan at 21-23 weeks: £400

Dr Yu will take measurements of your baby’s head, brain, abdomen and legs and plot them on a chart. She then performs a detailed scan to check your baby’s heart, brain, spine, bowel and limbs, to detect any abnormalities. This can never completely rule out any abnormalities, but it does give very strong reassurance. She also scans the placenta, amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord. If you wish, you can find out the sex of your baby from this scan.

Not included in pregnancy care package.

Cervical length scan. (Included in pregnancy care package)

If your baby is at risk of premature birth, it may be useful to have a scan, using a probe in the vagina, to assess the length of the uterine cervix. This can be done at any stage from 16 weeks but is most useful if done sequentially at 17 and 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Included in pregnancy care package.

23-40 weeks fetal growth scan. (Included in pregnancy care package)

During this scan Dr Yu measures the baby’s head, abdomen and limbs, and estimate it’s weight. This gives a guide to how big your baby will be at birth. We also look at how the baby is moving, the amount of amniotic fluid, where the placenta is, as well as assessing the Doppler blood flow in the umbilical cord blood vessels.

Included in pregnancy care package.

Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT): £550

NIPT (formerly the Harmony test) is taken from a blood sample.

It has been discovered that a blood sample taken from the mother at any time from early pregnancy can be analysed for cell free fetal DNA, which is essentially a marker in the mother’s blood of the DNA of the baby. The result of the simple blood test (NIPT), taken at 10 weeks or later has a sensitivity for the detection of Down syndrome greater than 99%, 97.4% for Edwards syndrome and 93.8% for Patau’s syndrome, with a false positive rate of less than 0.1%. This can reduce the need for invasive testing by CVS or amniocentesis. This is great news for couples because it eliminates the risk of miscarriage from invasive testing.

It is important that an ultrasound scan is performed just before the blood test to confirm the pregnancy, and to check that the mother is not carrying twins or more. NIPT can be used to check twins with a sensitivity for the detection of Down syndrome greater than 95% and can now be used if the pregnancy is conceived with donated egg.

Not included in pregnancy care package.

Chorionic Villous Sample test (CVS) & Amniocentesis

After the results of the Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT), you can make an informed choice about whether to have a CVS (Chorionic Villous Sample) at 12 weeks, or an amniocentesis (amnio) at 16 weeks. These tests give definitive information about whether there are any abnormalities. These tests are ‘invasive procedures’ and carry an added risk of miscarriage of 1%. This means that 1 in every 100 women who have these tests will have a miscarriage as a result of having the test.

CVS and amnio tests are performed and charged direct by the Portland Hospital ultrasound department. Additional charges may apply for multiple pregnancies. Fees are available on request.

Not included in pregnancy care package.