It’s incredible how time is flying, it seems as if it was yesterday that I had my first GP appointment to confirm my pregnancy and here I am now, only hours away from my 20 week scan and halfway through the journey!
I’m very excited and anxious because hopefully I’ll be able to find out whether I’m having a boy or a girl. This is another thing that is so different from Brazil, in England people usually prefer not to know the sex of their babies… I particularly would never be able to wait 9 months to find out…. but I understand and respect people’s choices!
This scan is also called anomaly scan and I believe most women are offered this detailed scan at about 20 weeks to check that their baby is developing normally.
It can be a bit confusing to understand all these different types of scans available so have a look below to understand what scans are offered by the NHS:
Dating scan: this is normally the first scan that you will be offered by the NHS (unless you had some complications at the early stages) and happens at about 10 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. It’s an accurate way of establishing your due date and finding out if you are having more than one baby. I decided to have an early scan too, which was done privately when I was about 8 weeks pregnant. I was a bit worried due to some lower abdominal pain I’d had during my first weeks and wanted to double check that everything was ok… it was totally worth the £150,00 I spent, being able to see that tiny “2cm baby’ and hear his/her strong heart beat was amazing! 
Nuchal translucency scan: all women should now be offered a nuchal translucency scan between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy which can estimate the likelihood that your baby has Down’s syndrome. It’s usually offered as part of the “combined test’ which includes the nuchal translucency scan and a blood test.
Anomaly scan: this scan is offered to all pregnant mums between 18 and 21 weeks. It’s a much more detailed scan than the dating scan and it’s main purpose is to examine your baby closely and check for abnormalities. It’s is used to check the following:
- Fetal anatomy: your baby’s head, spine, heart, stomach, kidneys, hands and feet.
- Gestational age
- Growth rate: the length of the baby is measured from the head to the bottom.
- Amount of amniotic fluid
- Location of the placenta
- The baby’s gender
Further scans:
There are a number of other scans that may be needed if any of the following arise: multiple pregnancy, any problem with the baby’s growth, too little or too much amniotic fluid, high risk for premature labour, diabetes, high blood pressure, bleeding, etc.
Well I hope you found this post useful!
Oops, I was almost forgetting to say that I felt my baby moving yesterday for the first time, it was like a proper kick…it’s magic, I’m loving the second trimester, I’m feeling good and energetic and now feeling my baby too!
Speak to you soon!
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