Growth Scans

As an NHS Midwife there are a lot of services provided by private scan clinics that are not suitable for every pregnancy and can cause unnecessary worry.

Having a growth scan in pregnancy can often be essential, this is something your midwife or obstetrician will request if they are concerned with the rate your baby is growing. However, most women do not need a growth scan at all in pregnancy and the growth of the baby is monitored by a simple measurement of your bump.

Having a growth scan with a private gender and/or 4D souvenir scan is not actually necessary and can often cause more harm, stress and worry for nothing. Each growth chart created for you in pregnancy is customised to you and each growth or measurement of your baby should be plotted on your chart. The growth should be monitored every 2-3 weeks, it should not be done more frequently than this. The growth scans provided with every private scan are not plotted on your chart and are not carried out within the Fetal Growth Assessment Protocol provided in by the Perinatal Institute. So what may seem like a small/large baby just based on the weight given to you on the report may not actually be small or large when plotted on your chart.

Growth scans provided with souvenir scans are not necessary and do not follow the guidance set out in the Fetal Growth Monitoring Guidelines in Maternity Services.

Author: Lucy Durkin