Use of Portable Ultrasound Equipment for at Home Pregnancy Scanning

Expectant Parents Anxiety

Most expectant parents are looking to purchase a scanner to use at home, mostly due to anxiety. This anxiety is derived from previous traumatic experiences such as previous miscarriages, and they believe that regularly checking the progress of the pregnancy will alleviate this anxiety.

Using an ultrasound machine at home, however, can have the opposite effect, causing more anxiety due to the inability to identify the baby or the heartbeat.

Ultrasound scanning might look easy when performed by a trained professional, but it's not. The healthcare professional who performs the scans, more likely a Sonographer,  has spent at least one year studying ultrasound in clinical usage and its bioeffects.  Sonographers also have to perform a large number of scans supervised; pass the theory and practical exams before they are allowed to take responsibility for their own examinations.

Disadvantages of untrained parents using ultrasound at home

The use of ultrasound at home can provide false reassurance of fetal wellbeing or even cause harm if exposure is prolonged.

 Use of handheld fetal heart rate Doppler systems by parents in their own home, where the fetal heart was incorrectly identified, have previously been reported as a cause of delayed presentation to medical care in fetal compromise and stillbirth.

Parental anxiety will increase when normal ultrasound images are misinterpreted during the scan undertaken by parents in their own homes.

This is why both the SCoR and BMUS recommend that "ultrasound examinations are only performed by appropriate professionals, who can interpret the ultrasound images accurately and use the equipment safely, to reduce any potential harm to the baby or anxiety for parents." 

4D ultrasound Scanning at home

Some of the latest portable scanners marketed for home use are able to perform 4D live scanning. As previously, this exposure of the foetus to ultrasound energy has no diagnostic value and can be dangerous. It is again, therefore, recommended that parents should weigh up the unknown risks against the benefits of having a keepsake ultrasound photo of their developing baby.

Purchasing an Ultrasound Scanner online.

Devices produced for home scans and purchased cheaply online, for example, eBay or Amazon may not have the same level of control and compliance with regulations as devices approved for healthcare settings and the level of quality assurance and testing might be limited in unregulated environments.

If you after all the previous recommendations you decide to purchase a baby scanner online instead of visit a reputable baby scan clinic, you should at least make sure that the equipment is CE marked.

Should you buy then a scanner for home use?

The answer is No unless you are a properly trained healthcare professional, as ultrasound imaging at home by untrained operators can cause more harm than good and can also have significant implications for the health and wellbeing of the unborn baby and parents to be.

Where to get a baby scan in London?

If you are looking for an early scan for reassurance in the early weeks in your pregnancy or a private baby scan to find your baby's gender and get quick answers about your baby's health, you can rest assured that our sonographers have the skills and the knowledge to provide you with the instant answers you need. The pregnancy ultrasound is a diagnostic scan that can help to reassure you that your pregnancy is normally progressing and detect any abnormalities. You can now book your appointment online or over the phone.

The private baby scans are performed by highly qualified sonographers who perform precise baby scans to help predict and diagnose any situation that might arise. Our patients benefit from early diagnosis and treatment of prenatal complications, as well as routine obstetric scanning.