Health & Medical Advice and Information - UK Medical Health

The Kings Oak Hospital in Enfield provides a Baby Bonding centre for parents-to-be. The centre give you the opportunity to see your unborn baby in exceptional detail using 3D and 4D scanning techniques.

3D Scan images are still images and 4D scans are real time moving images of the baby in the womb. These imaging techniques provide extraordinarily detailed views of the unborn child. They may show the baby sucking its thumb, moving its face, smiling and displaying many of the mannerisms apparent in newborn babies.

Conventional 2D scans may be provided by your NHS service as part of your antenatal care. The number and frequency of these ultrasound scans will be partly determined by where you live. In some regions you are likely to receive only one scan at around 12 weeks of pregnancy. These scans are generally carried out for diagnostic reasons.

The 3D and 4D baby scans carried out at the Baby Bonding centre are not diagnostic. Their purpose is primarliy aesthetic, providing parents-to-be with accurate images of their unborn child. This supports and encourages bonding between the parents and the unborn foetus.

The high quality images obtained from 3D and 4D baby scanning techniques are derived using the same ultrasound technology as is used for the 2D scans. The information provided from the ultrasound scan is passed through a computer programme which cleans up the images enough for parents-to-be to identify family features and characteristics. You will be provided with a DVD containing all of the 3D and 4D imagery that has been recorded along with a photo frame for your still images and an information booklet, all packaged in a keepsake wallet.