It’s pretty simple to understand since it’s in the name: the answer to what is a gender scan is simply a scan to determine the gender of your baby. The scan however tells you a lot more including the general health of your baby and also gives you the opportunity to see your baby on screen.
It’s important to find the perfect place for this important step of the journey and with our gender scans in Belfast you’ll be in great hands as we talk you through the process answering all of the questions you might have.
Future parents-to-be love this process and it’s possibly the most exciting part of the pregnancy as it gives you that first personal moment with your baby. Often, the mum to be will pick a time where the baby is most active to make for an exciting scan.
Below is all you need to know about your Gender Scan before we welcome you into our clinic.
So how does a Gender Ultrasound work?
The person who takes you through the gender scan process is called a sonographer, and what they do is emit sound waves from your stomach.
To do this they use a transducer which creates those waves, bouncing off your babies tissues which in turn creates the image known as a sonogram.
A gender scan is usually done between 18 and 22 weeks into the pregnancy since the baby is developed enough to be able to distinguish the difference between boy or girl characteristics.
Some parents like to be surprised and ask the sonographer to keep the details a secret by giving the information in an envelope and not saying it at the time of the gender scan. If you’re planning a gender reveal party, make sure to ask for the gender not to be revealed to you in person.
How accurate is a Gender Scan?
Gender scans can be done earlier on in the pregnancy, as early as 17 weeks however the accuracy will be significantly less at around 75%. Waiting until the second trimester however will give you an almost 100% accuracy so to avoid any confusion it’s probably best to wait that little longer.
The accuracy of the gender scan depends on:
- The sonographer (if they’re trained and experienced)
- Your own body (bloating, full bladder or even gas can make for a cloudy image making it more difficult for the sonographer to make out the gender).
- The baby (you never know if they will decide to wrap their legs around in a funky way making it hard for the sonographer to analyse them).
Some parents like to know the gender of their baby as early as possible to paint the nursery and buy colour coded outfits, whereas other parents simply stick to neutral colours.
Either way, finding out the gender of your baby is entirely personal and each parent is different. Most importantly, this should be an exciting experience since you get to see your baby on screen which might be the first time, or the first time since they’re more grown.
Either way, watching every step of your baby’s development is an emotional and important journey and we’re here to make it a memorable one for you.
To book a gender scan in Belfast at the clinic. you can do so on our site.