Private 12 week nuchal translucency scans at our London clinic

12 weeks is a benchmark, but the nuchal scan can be done at any time between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. During your appointment, your ultrasound specialist will carry out a thorough assessment to confirm the viability of your pregnancy. This involves checking the development of your baby's anatomy, where your clinician will take measurements. They’ll also look out for early signs of any issues, such as congenital heart defects, or indications of the possibility of conditions such as Down’s syndrome.

The 12 week ultrasound scan  allows us to closely examine your baby’s anatomy and organs, take measurements and check for any anomalies that may be linked with Down’s syndrome or other congenital complications. 

Our ultrasound specialist, Ms Ciara McKenna, is an expert in prenatal scanning, and will advise you if you require further monitoring or specialist input. However, in most cases, this detailed scan is a confirmation that everything is progressing normally, and is a chance for you to see images of your baby in detail.

During the scan, your ultrasound specialist will talk you through their findings and offer you a detailed explanation of what they’re seeing, as they see it. If they identify any risk of your baby having certain conditions, you will be invited to have further scans and blood tests. The results of the scan will be combined with information such as your age and blood test results, which can measure specific proteins in your bloodstream.

During the ultrasound we will measure the amount of fluid at the back of your baby’s neck. This information can give an indication of the possibility of Down’s syndrome. 

If there is an increased risk of Down’s syndrome, we also recommend having a blood test, which you can have on the same day of your scan, to provide further certainty. It is used to measure the levels of two important hormones in your blood. The blood test is optional, but on its own, the ultrasound is 70% accurate in predicting Down’s syndrome, but this increases to 90% when combined with the blood test. 

While the ultrasound scan itself takes around 30 minutes, we allow an hour for the appointment so that you do not feel rushed, and have plenty of time to make yourself comfortable and ask questions. We will go through your personal medical history and talk you through the process.

During this scan our ultrasound specialist will also take a nuchal translucency measurement, to assess the amount of fluid at the back of your baby’s neck. This can play an important role in assessing the possibility of your child having Down’s syndrome.

We always recommend an abdominal scan at this stage, as it provides more accuracy than a transvaginal scan. Once you’re in the examination chair, we will move a probe over your abdomen to get a detailed look at your baby’s anatomy, including the organs and placenta.

They will always talk you through the images and point out aspects of your baby's anatomy. They will also explain what your scan, taken with your blood test, shows in terms of your risk level for Down’s syndrome and other congenital anomalies. 

Our ultrasound specialist, Ms Ciara McKenna, is an Advanced Practitioner in Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound, and was Head of the Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound department at the NHS Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital for many years. She is therefore highly experienced in assessing and interpreting pregnancy ultrasound images.

Your images will be in 3D and 4D (video) format, and you will be able to access them through an online link. We will also email the images and report to you and your doctor within 24 hours. 

Our specialist will take time and great care to explain what is happening. If your ultrasound scan indicates a risk of abnormal development we offer expert guidance and advice on the next steps. 

After explaining the context for the findings, we will discuss further scans and tests that might be useful. We provide non-invasive prenatal tests, including the Illumina Prenatal Test, which offers a highly accurate assessment of genetic anomalies, providing you with valuable information on managing your pregnancy in a way that feels right for you. 

If we are happy with the results, and no more tests or scans are needed, your next scan will typically be around 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The 20-week ultrasound scan, sometimes called the anomaly scan, can be carried out any time between 18 and 24 weeks, and gives you the opportunity to see images of your baby in 3D and 4D.