About your baby scan.
Depending on how many weeks pregnant you are you may need to drink plenty of water before your scan so we can get a better view of the baby. If you over 20 weeks this is not necessary. Come with loose fitting clothes that you can pull down over your abdomen. We only do transabdominal ultrasound scans at Meet The Baby. You will be asked to lie on our treatment bed and our sonographer will apply ultrasound gel to your surface of your skin. This provides a good contact between the probe and your skin.
The Ultrasound probe looks a bit like a microphone and this will transmit high frequency sounds waves once placed on your skin. You can't hear these sound waves, but when they bounce off different parts of the body they create "echoes" that are picked up by the probe and turned into a moving image. The probe will be moved around your abdomen to see what position the baby is in and you may be asked to lie on your side to get a better angle. You should only feel a light amount of pressure and it does not hurt.
The images on the ultrasound machine will be displayed on the large 50inch HD TV so you can watch what is happening. The scan will last around 15 minutes. After the scan you can choose which pictures you would like to take home with you.