This mid-pregnancy 20 week anomaly scan (often referred to as a detailed anatomy scan) provides a detailed ultrasound of your baby. It evaluates the position of your placenta, amniotic fluid and evaluates foetal growth against the expected gestational age of your your baby.
Whilst a 20 week scan is offered to every expectant mother by the NHS, often parents request private anomaly scans either to obtain a second opinion or for peace of mind when seeking-out an earlier appointment.
The aim of the anomaly scan is to determine the presence of rare conditions and whilst the majority of babies are healthy, occasionally some will experience problems. The anomaly scan is a detailed scan that checks the physical development of your baby by looking at anatomical structures such as the head, face and lips, chest, heart, stomach, kidneys, spine and limbs. Over half of all serious congenital malformations such as spina bifida and cardiac and neural tube defects, can be detected by the 20 week stage. By detecting these early this allows parents to understand their choices and plan treatment at birth.
Our specialist and highly trained sonographers will assess your baby’s growth and development to ensure that the pregnancy is progressing as expected. These measurements include baby’s head and brain anatomy, the abdominal circumference and femur length. These measurements are plotted onto charts, provided in a detailed ultrasound report which you will receive at the end of your appointment. We always recommend that you provide this to your obstetrician or midwife for continuity of care.
Your sonographer will cover your scan results as well as checking the placenta, amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord. If you don’t already know the gender, you can also find out the sex of your baby from the Anomaly Scan – just let your Sonographer know!
Generally speaking if the anatomy scan doesn’t detect any abnormalities, then there is only a small chance that your baby will have a structural problem. However, the screening is not exhaustive to all conditions and some problems may not be visibly clear and detected, or might not yet have developed and be present at 20 weeks.
We understand how nerve wracking scans can be for parents, particularly when anomalies are detected and our sonographers have to share bad news. Our team of sonographers are here to ensure your wellbeing and will always counsel patients on results, as well as liaising with their NHS medical team. We will provide a full report with any findings to both the patient and their obstetrician or midwife team.
Anomaly Scan:
- Anomaly Scan (18-24 weeks): Cost Singleton £180 Multiple £200
