Partners can accompany to all baby scans, antenatal appointments and community antenatal appointments, but will require a lateral flow test. Birth partners are now able to stay overnight, and children of the mother will be able to visit if accompanied by the birth partner.
Women and their partners can come straight to the ultrasound department and wait in the waiting room. If the waiting room exceeds the number of people allowed we will ask you to wait in a designated area in the corridor.
Unfortunately, children and additional relatives cannot attend with you and therefore we ask that you make the necessary childcare arrangements ahead of your appointment.
We cannot permit any recording of obstetric scans as per our current policy nor is face time appropriate.
This is an exceptional situation and we appreciate your support in keeping women and families safe, and also allowing us to keep our staff safe so we can maintain our services.
Sound waves are emitted by a hand held device called a transducer. The transducer then directs inaudible, high-frequency sound waves in to the body. As these waves pass through the body they come in contact with the body's fluids and tissues, this causes some of the sound to be reflected (bounced) back to the transducer which then records the strength and character of the reflected waves.
The different signal strengths are then converted by the ultrasound machine to be viewed as pictures on its screen.
The scan will be carried out by one of our Radiologists or Ultrasonographers, who are especially trained to interpret the data and images on the ultrasound screen.
Depending on the type of ultrasound examination you are having, you may need to follow certain instructions about fasting and having a full bladder. These instructions will be in the appointment letter you receive.
You will be asked to remove any inhibiting clothing and then lay on a couch, the ultrasonographer will apply a special gel to the part of the body being scanned and slide the transducer across that part of the body to acquire an image.
- General ultrasound is used for numerous conditions ranging from looking at the functions of various organs such as kidneys, condition of joints, soft tissue and biopsies.
- Doppler ultrasound looks specifically at the blood flow in blood vessels.
- Obstetric ultrasound scans are specifically related to pregnancy and the baby's progress throughout the pregnancy.
Ultrasound is not a painful examination and takes between 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of examination.
After your ultrasound scan you will be able to return to your normal daily routine.