'What sex is my baby?' is a question that we hear from a lot of expectant parents, but not everyone is interested in hearing the answer to that question - in fact, many of the people who come to us a for a pregnancy scan specifically ask not to be told their unborn baby's gender.

• For: You'll be able to pick a name sooner! Finding out your baby's sex instantly allows you to eliminate 50% of the names you're considering. You won't have to worry about choosing between 'Lily' and 'Ivy' if you already know that you're having a boy!
  
  
• Against: You'll ruin the surprise! Finding out whether you're the parent of a boy or a girl is one of the biggest and best surprises you'll ever experience, and many people (including the author of this Huffington Post article) say that the surprise is all the better when you find out in the delivery room.
  
  
• For: You get to tell all your friends and relatives! Your nearest and dearest are sure to be itching for updates on your pregnancy, and they'll be thrilled if they can find out the baby's gender ahead of the birth. You can even give them our Gender Reveal Cards to make it even more exciting!
  
  

• Against: You'll end up with loads of pink/blue stuff! You may be able to resist the temptation to buy loads of colour-coded, gender-specific products for your baby after finding out the results of your gender scan, but that doesn't mean your friends and family won't do it for you. If you want to avoid the 'sports for boys/princesses for girls' stereotypes, leaving the gender unknown can be a good way to do so.
  
  
• For: You won't be disappointed on the day! If you have your heart set on a specific sex for your unborn baby, it may be a good idea to find out in advance - that way, if it's not the gender you were hoping for, you'll have time to get over your disappointment and get excited all over again for the boy/girl that you're actually having!
  
  
• Against: You won't be disappointed on the day anyway! The aforementioned Huffington article points out that, even if you were hoping for one gender or the other, that won't matter on the big day - any disappointment will be washed away by the excitement and joy of becoming a parent!
  
  
• For: You'll feel closer to your baby! Many expectant parents find that knowing the gender helps them to feel closer to their baby during the pregnancy. After all, it's easier to visualise your future child when you know whether that child is a boy or a girl.
  
  
• Against: The sonographer might get it wrong! The 'wait and see' camp love to make this point, and it's true that no gender scan is 100% infallible. That said, our sonographers can accurately identify the gender in the vast majority of cases, and if the baby's position makes it difficult for us to know for sure, we'll tell you so - we never just guess! Furthermore, we will show you the evidence for our decision on a large plasma screen during your appointment, so you won't just have to take our word for it.
  
  

Whether you want to find out your baby's gender or not, we at First Encounters Ultrasound are the people to call for your pregnancy scan. Note that gender is always depicted using traditional 2D ultrasound technology (even when a gender scan is included as part of one of our 4D packages); since gender is not visible on a 4D scan, you are not obliged to find out the gender if you get a 4D ultrasound session.

The best time for a 4D ultrasound scan is around 27 weeks into your pregnancy. While 4D scans are available from 24 to 32 weeks, we recommend having the scan at 26 – 29 weeks in case your baby is growing slower or faster than average.

Expectant parents often ask us how long they should wait before coming in for a 4D ultrasound scan. Obviously, if the scan is carried out too early, the foetus will not have developed far enough to give a satisfactory image, but waiting until the final weeks of your pregnancy isn't a very good idea either.

Many people believe that they must wait until at least 30 weeks to book an ultrasound session, but this—if you'll pardon the pun—is a misconception. Here at First Encounters Ultrasound, we offer 4D scans from 24 weeks to 32 weeks; however, we recommend 26 – 29 weeks as the optimum time for a 4D scan, as this allows us to accommodate babies who are developing at a slower or faster rate than average. It would be a shame if you visited our clinic at the start of your 24th week, only to find that your baby isn't quite ready for the camera yet!

So, to answer your question: the best time to have a 4D baby scan is around 27 weeks. However, this does not mean that a satisfactory image cannot be captured later on; every pregnancy is different, of course, but we are almost always able to achieve great results up to 32 weeks.

Upon request, we can also determine the gender of your baby during your 4D scan to make the experience all the more memorable.

Why can't I have a 4D scan after 32 weeks?

As mentioned above, the cut-off point for our 4D scan packages is 32 weeks. You may be wondering why this is the case; surely the image would be even better if we waited until the baby was completely developed?

The reason is quite simple: there's only a limited amount of space in your womb, and our sonographers are able to achieve better results when there's still some room left in there.

The main aim of a 4D scan is to capture an image of your baby's face, and we can only do that if he or she is facing the camera (or rather the ultrasound probe) when the scan takes place. If, when you arrive at our clinic, your baby is facing your back, he/she will need room to turn around—otherwise, we're stuck looking at the back of baby's head!

As your child grows, they leave less and less room for moving around, which means that the chances of turning become quite slim after the 32-week point. Furthermore, fluid levels reduce as the pregnancy develops, which will further impede the projection of imagery and also your baby's movement within the womb.

Is there any way to encourage movement?

Want to keep your baby moving on the day of your scan? Here are a few suggestions:

• Sugar stimulation is a good way to promote movement in utero. Eating a bar of chocolate and/or having a fizzy drink about 20 minutes before your scan will give your baby a burst of hyperactivity!
  
  
• We recommend having a full bladder when you come in for your 4D scan. If your baby's head is pointed downwards, he or she may decide to play hide-and-seek by burying it in your pelvic area. An inflated bladder helps to prevent this from happening, lifting your baby into a better position for the camera.
  
  
• If you come in for your scan and your baby is feeling camera-shy, we will recommend that you take a brief walk to get things moving in there.

If all else fails and we are unable to get a good picture of your unborn child, we will be more than happy to offer you a complementary re-scan visit on another date.

Click below to browse our scan packages and book your 4D ultrasound appointment online!

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