Early Reassurance Scan

From you moment you see those 2 pink lines on the your pregnancy test, we realise that pregnancy can be full of joys and worries.

Our highly trained team are here to offer you reassurance, through ultrasound we can check on baby from as early as 7 weeks with late evening appointments during the week and weekend appointments available too.

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Early Reassurance Scan

These guys are amazing and what an absolute bargain! Danielle Ellison

As a mother myself I know how long pregnancy actually feels ... about a million years. The worst bit is between seeing that pink line flash up on that little stick and actually seeing your little bean on the screen at the hospital. Well here at Your Baby Scan we give you the opportunity to come along and see your little bean from as early as 7 weeks. What a great way to tell your nearest and dearest that you're pregnant and to begin to watch your baby grow.

When coming for an Early Reassurance Scan, your scan will take place in 2D which is the same as the black and white scan you get at your 12 weeks appointment at the hospital. This is not only the clearest way to see your new baby which is measuring around the size of a blueberry, but can provide you with reassurance when the early stages of pregnancy have you worried. It is widely recognised that high levels of stress during early pregnancy may lead to an increased risk of miscarriage. It's for this reason that our scan centres are open at weekends, when your local NHS Hospital Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU) or BEP clinic may be closed.

Available Packages

Early Confirmation Scan

(Also known as a Pregnancy Viability Scan)

A scan to confirm the location of the gestational sac, and embryo development. Scan will start as an abdominal scan, but includes an internal (transvaginal) scan if needed. Typical confirmation scans are less than 7 weeks and therefore the heartbeat cannot normally be visualised reliably at this stage of pregnancy.

What's included?

Early Reassurance Scan

(Also known as a Early Pregnancy Scan)

Short 2D scan (Black & White) to confirm pregnancy and check the health of developing embryo and fetus at this early stage in pregnancy. This scan offers an opportunity to view your developing baby before you've had your NHS Hospital appointment

What's included?

All of our sonographers are fully trained and qualified with experience working at hospitals, and that's important to us. They're all HCPC registered, so they know what they're doing, and understand the worry that you may be going through. They will take a look around baby to make sure that baby is developing and has a good healthy heart beat, we'll involve you as we're looking around baby, explaining exactly what you're seeing, and where you have a specific concern, we'll be able look at that area for you.

What is this scan for?

And for all of our scans:

No extra charge for twins
No extra charge for evening appointments
No extra charge for weekends
No extra charge for PPE

Please note: Whilst our scans are performed by fully qualified HCPC registered sonographers, if you are experiencing any bleeding, or symptoms of ectopic pregnancy we would always recommend contacting your nearest BEP Clinic, Hospital EPAU or, in the case of symptoms of ectopic pregnancy, your nearest A&E, where you are in reach of medical assistance if it is needed urgently. We understand that from time to time, often at weekends, your local BEP clinic or EPAU may not be able to see you which can cause potentially unnecessary worry in which case we are able to scan you to provide you with reassurance of baby's well-being at that point in time. Your nearest A&E is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and should always be your first point of contact for ectopic pregnancy symptoms.

Frequently asked questions

Is an ultrasound scan safe?

There is currently no evidence to suggest that ultrasound (including 4D Bonding Scans) are harmful, however, it is important that you have all of the facts about the risks associated with the procedure before coming to your decision on the matter. In general, it's recommended for good measure to keep your scan times to a minimum, and that this is particularly during the early stages of pregnancy, for this reason, we will end scans during the very early stages of pregnancy once we have been able to provide you with the reassurance that you seek.

The following links will help:

Whether you choose to have a scan with us or not, it is essential that you keep your NHS Ultrasound appointments.

Does ultrasound use radiation?

It is a very common misconception that because our 2D images show a cross-sectional image in black and white, which can similar to an X-Ray in appearance, that Ultrasound also uses Radiation to capture images. Ultrasound does not use radiation to create the images that you see. Instead ultrasound uses high frequency sound (beyond that audible by humans or animals) to produce the images that you see; much in the same way as a sonar on old submarines.

Can I listen to my baby's heartbeat during my scan?

In short, if your baby is measuring more than 16 weeks during your scan, yes. If your baby is measuring less than 16 weeks, no.

We follow the guidance of many organisations including BMUS, SoR, EFSUMB and ISUOG which recommends against high power ultrasound modes during the earlier stages of ultrasound when the organs and development of the fetus may be affected by tissue heating. Whilst there are no recorded cases of adverse effects of tissue heating on the development of a fetus, the effects are considered unknowns and therefore advice is to not take any risks. BMUS guidelines are not based in weeks, but to ensure that a fetus is not put at risk our safety cut off is 16 weeks onwards.

Who can I bring to my scan?

Here at Your Baby Scan we want your experience to be the complete opposite to your NHS scan. We know that they only allow 2 people to your scans. We want you to be able to share your experience with your mum, dad, nan, gran, aunt and uncle and even your neighbour!

At the moment the number of people allowed to attend your appointment is dependent on COVID restrictions at the point in time and you should always check our COVID restrictions page before you visit for the most up to date information.

Typically we allow yourself plus either:

3 adult guests plus any dependent children
5 adult guests

We have a large TV screen in Widnes, and an even bigger projection screen on the wall in Crewe, so everyone can see.

Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there may be additional restrictions to how many people can attend your appointment with you, please see our latest COVID-19 restrictions. Whilst restrictions are in place, our Your Baby Scan Live service will be available for free of charge for friends and family to join your scan from the safety of their own homes.

Do I still need to have my NHS appointment?

YES, absolutely! Our sonographers want to make sure you see your baby and don't carry out a full abnormality check during your scan. Our sonographers will perform a wellbeing check during your scan, but this does not go into the level of detail required during an abnormality scan, which by itself could take up the entire time that you appointment is planned for, and would leave no time for you to bond with your baby or see them in 3D/4D. As a result, the wellbeing check doesn't cover all the things that your midwife needs to see and know so its best to still keep up with all of your NHS scans and appointments.

What if the sonographer does pick up on something?

Whilst we don’t go out of the way looking for problems, if our sonographer does notice something unusual then with your permission we will refer you to your midwife or local hospital and our sonographer will provide you will a clinical report of our findings and letter to take with you.

Each of our sonographers are fully qualified in performing diagnostic obstetric ultrasound scans, so they are more than capable of measuring for example the amount of fluid around baby, or nuchal translucency inline with NHS and UK protocols, but they will not perform these measurements unless they happen to have a cause for concern.

Our sonographers will absolutely not hide away from telling you if there is something wrong.

Do I need a full bladder for my early scan?

For all scans up to 21 weeks we require a full bladder prior to scanning. Filling your bladder helps to lift baby out of the pelvis and make it easier (and therefore clearer) to see which is essential for checking baby's wellbeing.

Anything you drink can take around 20-30 minutes to get to your bladder so we recommend drinking around 2-3 pints of water 20-30 before your appointment time so that it has time to fill up. Anything you drink after you arrive for your appointment is likely to be filling your bladder after your scan has been completed which could make for an uncomfortable journey home.

I have bleeding or pain, can I have an appointment?

If you are experiencing bleeding or pain it is essential that you contact your NHS clinical care team in the first instance. They will most likely want to provide you with a scan, and will have clinicians and facilities available if you need urgent treatment which will not be available in our clinic

How old do I need to be to have an appointment?

At Your Baby Scan we have a strict policy of only providing ultrasound scans for people aged 16 and over. For young people aged between 16 and 18, whilst we do not require a parent or legal guardian to attend your appointment with you, we strongly recommend that they attend with you to provide you with the guidance and support during your appointment.

Unfortunately we do not routinely allow ultrasound appointments for young people aged 16-18 years prior to 9 weeks (Dating Scan).

How often can I come for an appointment?

Some people will want to visit us once during their pregnancy, and others will want to visit us multiple times. We recommend spacing all ultrasound appointments 4-8 weeks apart where possible to keep the amount of time that your baby is exposed to ultrasound to a minimum. Though there is no clinical evidence that ultrasound can cause any harm to your development baby, this is precautionary. You should consider that your NHS appointments will be fairly fixed points during your pregnancy, with your NHS Dating Scan around 10-14 weeks, and your NHS Abnormality Scan 18-21 weeks.

Whilst you can come sooner than 4-8 weeks, you should let your sonographer (private or NHS) know if you have had a scan less than 2 weeks ago so that this can be taken into consideration when taking measurements.