When reality star Kim Kardashian West was heavily pregnant, she spoke out about her experience undergoing an ECV (external cephalic version), due to the fact that her baby was breech. Only 3-4 percent of babies remain in the breech position towards the end of pregnancy, which means that having to undergo this procedure is a very rare indeed. In order to shed some light on the situation and help expectant mothers to better understand the issue, we thought we would share some information about breech babies and what this means for the pregnancy.
In simple terms, breech simply means that your baby is positioned bottom-down as opposed to head downwards, meaning the baby would be born feet- or bottom-first if a vaginal birth were to go ahead. While this is usually a temporary position in the third trimester, in cases like that of Kim Kardashian West, the baby may remain in the position, which means that your doctor or midwife will have to advise you on the best course of action.
If your baby remains in the breech position you will likely be advised to undergo a caesarean in order to deliver the baby, although some measures may help to turn your baby, making natural birth possible if it is successfully positioned. While there are several natural methods it is possible to attempt in order to encourage your baby to turn, or you may also be offered to undergo ECV, at 36 weeks if it is your first pregnancy, or at 37 weeks if like Kim Kardashian West you have had a baby before. This involves being given medication to relax you uterus, after which a doctor will attempt to manually turn the baby so that is facing the correct way. This is not recommended in some cases, however, particularly if you've experienced complications during your pregnancy such as vaginal bleeding.
While the baby will either turn naturally or be manually turned with success in the majority of cases, there is no need to be concerned if your baby remains in the breech position. Your doctor will be able to advise you on the best course of action to ensure safety for yourself and your child, which in most cases will mean delivering the baby by caesarian.
For regular updates about First Encounters, and more advice to help you with your pregnancy, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
If you've had a look at our
Images & Videos section, you may be wondering if the examples on that page really are representative of the quality and the clarity you'll see on the screen when you come in for a 4D scan of your own. Will we be able to depict your unborn baby with that same level of detail?
The short answer is yes, for the vast majority of scans we perform. However, 4D ultrasound scans are not an exact science, and with each and every pregnancy being so very different, the achievable results can vary for each client, thus making it very difficult to provide an airtight guarantee when it comes to the quality of the imagery we aim to capture during our 3D/4D scans. That said, we will always endeavour to obtain the very best result achievable, working with you to encourage your baby into the best possible position; however, whilst a change of position can, in most cases, be achieved with the aid of sugar stimulation, there are other factors that may affect image quality and resolution.
All ultrasound scans obtain images via the reflection of sound waves, which penetrate from the probe placed on your belly through to your baby and back again. The image then displayed is the result of this reflection. Whilst we at First Encounters Ultrasound use the latest, most advanced ultrasound technology (effectively enabling an element of image manipulation), image quality and resolution can unfortunately be impaired if the sound waves have more distance to travel, thus creating a weaker reflection and a lower-resolution image.
In some cases, a high BMI can lead to a less than perfect result; however, our own experience has also identified that, in cases of a high BMI, clearer images can be achieved when the scan is performed slightly later (between 29 and 30 weeks gestation). This is because the baby sometimes moves closer to the stomach wall, thus creating a shorter distance for the reflected sound waves to cover, resulting in a better image resolution.
The key points to remember when planning your 4D experience are as follows:
- Your baby will require room for movement.
- Your baby will need to be surrounded by plenty of fluid to assist the projection of imagery
In order to achieve the best possible results, we always recommend between 25 and 29 weeks as the optimum time for a 3D/4D scan. However, in the event that your baby is uncooperative on the day, a complimentary rescan will be offered on an alternative day (where appropriate, and subject to terms and conditions).
All of this being said, we'd like to say once again that unsatisfactory scans are very few and far between. The vast majority of women who come to us leave absolutely thrilled with the results of their 4D scan - if you'd like to book a scan of your own, please
click here to compare the packages we offer. Alternatively, if you have any other questions to ask, feel free to give us a call on
02920 732671.
As you're probably aware, we offer a variety of different baby gender scans here at First Encounters Ultrasound.
Countless parents have visited our clinics in the hope of discovering their unborn baby's gender - some do it so that they can decide on an appropriate name, while others ask to learn the gender in advance because they simply can't wait for the birth!
If you're thinking of getting a gender scan, you may well be wondering how accurate gender scans are, and how sure the sonographer will be when he or she reveals the gender of your unborn child.
How accurate are baby gender scans?
The answer is 'very accurate indeed', at least as far as we're concerned! Our sonographers are extremely well-trained and generally won't state the sex of the baby unless they're absolutely certain of your baby's gender.
To allow for an accurate gender confirmation, the baby's sex organs must be: a) reasonably fully-formed, and b) visible on the ultrasound scan. Our baby gender scans are available from 16 weeks onwards; we cannot confirm gender before this point for the simple reason that, generally speaking, genitalia are not visibly formed until around the 16-week mark!
Once you've reached 16 weeks gestation, our ability to predict your child's gender depends on their position inside the womb. Every so often, an expectant mother will come in for a gender scan only to find that her little one is resting in a position that makes it difficult for us to get an accurate idea of their sex. On these occasions, we ask the mother to take a brief stroll so as to get the foetus moving; we will then re-commence the gender scan, hopefully with more success.
What if we're unable to confirm your baby's gender?
It's a very rare occurrence, but if we can't tell what sex your baby is even after you've been for a walk, we will happily offer you a complimentary re-scan on a date that suits you. As previously mentioned, we will NEVER 'just guess' your baby's sex; if your gender scan proves inconclusive, you will be told as much by your sonographer. We have a reputation to uphold here at First Encounters Ultrasound, and so we will only ever tell you what we see on the scan - nothing more, nothing less.
Any other questions? Get in touch with a member of the First Encounters Ultrasound team today!
If you're expecting more than one baby, you may be wondering if you can still come to the First Encounters clinic for a 3D/4D bonding experience. In other words...
Can I have a 4D scan if I'm pregnant with twins?
Yes, you can! Many of the expectant mothers we meet are carrying more than one baby, and we frequently carry out scans (both 2D and 3D/4D) on unborn twins. After all, why should you be denied the breathtaking experience of glimpsing their world just because it's a little crowded in there?
However, there are a couple of things to bear in mind as you're booking your appointment with us. We recommend that twin scans are carried out between 22 and 26 weeks gestation; any later, and the footage we capture may not be of a satisfactory quality. You see, 4D ultrasound scans tend to give better results if the babies still have a little room in which to move around, and since two babies take up more space than one, we like to get the scan done a little earlier in cases of multiple pregnancies.
There's also the issue of payment. Twin scans take longer to perform than individual scans, and this will be reflected in the cost of your scan package. For all of our scans, there is a surcharge if you are carrying twins. This is because we effectively have to perform the scan twice, recording the position, measurements, and heartbeat of two babies instead of just one.
The following scan packages are available for multiple pregnancies:
- EarlyReassure™ (7-13weeks) - a scan tailored to the early stages of pregnancy. We can date the pregnancy, visualise a heartbeat and identify if you're having twins! (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £20).
- Growth&Wellbeing™ (16-40 weeks) - a scan that's designed to obtain growth measurements and check the wellbeing of your baby (or babies)! (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £20).
- Gender&Wellbeing™ (16-32 weeks) - a scan designed to perform observational wellbeing checks after your initial NHS dating scan. (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £25).
- GenderGrowth&Wellbeing™ (16-32 weeks) - a scan designed to obtain growth measurements and perform wellbeing observational checks on your baby after your initial NHS dating scan (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £25).
- 4DWellbeingAssure™ (24 - 32 weeks) - scan is primarily designed to perform wellbeing observational checks on your baby after your NHS anomaly scan between 24-32 weeks gestation (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £40).
- 4DGrowth&Wellbeing™ (24-32 weeks) - a scan primarily designed to obtain growth measurements and perform wellbeing observational checks on baby after your NHS anomaly scan between 24-32 weeks gestation (Multiple Pregnancy Surcharge £40).
We regret that we are not able to accommodate triplets (or quadruplets, quintuplets, etc.) in any of our scan packages.
Ready to meet your twins? Book your First Encounters Ultrasound scan now!
We are sorry to announce that the First Encounters Ultrasound clinic in Swindon is no longer open.
If you were hoping to visit us, we would be more than happy to welcome you to our
Cardiff clinic which is only a couple of hours from Swindon by car.
Here's our address:
Unit 1, Ground Floor
Brook House
Lime Tree Court
Mulberry Drive
Cardiff Gate Business Park
Cardiff
CF23 8AB
We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about our ultrasound clinic or the scan packages we offer, please don't hesitate to
get in touch.
We get asked a lot of
questions here at First Encounters Ultrasound, but perhaps the most common query of all concerns the safety of the scans that we provide. Many expectant parents feel slightly apprehensive about the idea of undergoing an ultrasound scan for fear that it will have a detrimental effect on the mother and/or her unborn baby.
The good news is that, in 30 years of study and research, ultrasound has not been found to cause any harm whatsoever to mother or baby. As the name suggests, ultrasound technology relies on sound waves, which are perfectly safe at the intensity used for the purposes of pregnancy scanning.
Ultrasound scans are now the norm throughout the UK; even if you don't visit the First Encounters clinic for a private scan, you will likely undergo two NHS ultrasound scans over the course of your pregnancy to check on your baby's development.
But what about 4D scans?
Most of the parents who enquire about the safety of our scans are referring specifically to our 4D scan packages; that is, the scans that capture 3D footage like this:
A lot of people assume that 4D scans must use a higher intensity than standard 2D scans, if not a different type of technology altogether. Many of the parents-to-be that we encounter have already received one ultrasound scan by the time we speak to them, and even some of these people are concerned about the side effects of our 4D scanning equipment.
If you are harbouring any such concerns yourself, allow us to put your mind at ease: 4D ultrasound scans have been shown to be completely safe for both mother and baby. Our 4D probe operates at the same intensity as our 2D scanning equipment, emitting sound waves into the body and creating an image based on the echoes it hears. The technology actually has a lot in common with radar!
Ultrasound scans do not expose you or your baby to radiation and they are generally painless. The only side effects you may experience is a small amount of discomfort as we run the probe over your skin or insert it into your body.
None of the ultrasound scans we offer have been shown to have any harmful effect on human beings, so when you and your unborn child pay us a visit, you can rest assured that our service is not putting either of you in any danger whatsoever.
