How Long Do Ultrasounds Take?

The first ultrasound scan of your pregnancy is exciting, but it can also be a little nerve-racking. You may well be wondering what to expect from this experience and how much time you need to set aside for it.

To help ease your mind, let's talk about how long ultrasounds take and discuss the different factors that may affect the duration of your scan.

Average Ultrasound Duration

The duration of a pregnancy ultrasound tends to vary depending on the purpose of the scan. We offer a variety of pregnancy ultrasound packages here at First Encounters – here's a quick overview of our average scan times:

• A scan time of 5 minutes is typical for dating scans, gender confirmation scans and general wellbeing / reassurance scans.
  
  
• Scans that include growth measurements can take a little longer – say 5 to 7 minutes – because the sonographer needs extra time to measure your baby's head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), femur length (FL) and so on.
  
  
• And a scan that includes 4D imaging can take slightly longer again. For example, our 4DGrowth&Wellbeing™ scan (which includes growth measurements as well as all the usual wellbeing checks) lasts for approximately 10 minutes.

We are well aware that some pregnancy ultrasound providers advertise longer scan times, but while this may seem appealing, professional guidance from the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) states that ultrasound scans should only last for as long as is necessary to achieve the desired diagnostic evaluation. Nothing is more important to us than the wellbeing of you and your baby, so we take care to comply with the BMUS guidelines and keep our scan times as short as we can.

Please note that the estimates given above only take into account the time you actually spend with the ultrasound probe on your belly. Your total appointment slot will be somewhat longer than this, so don't worry: you will have plenty of time to talk to us, raise any questions that are on your mind, and take a quick stroll to get your baby moving if they prove camera-shy!

No matter what sort of scan you're having, you can expect your ultrasound appointment to take 30 to 60 minutes in total depending on your baby's positioning and level of cooperation. Setting aside a full hour for your appointment should give you all the room you need to enjoy a relaxed and unhurried scan experience.

Use the link below to book your First Encounters ultrasound scan, or if you have any further queries, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.

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