A Truly Unforgettable, Moving Experience... (See My Baby)

Member Name: sambam000

Product:	See My Baby
Date:	20/10/09 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See/bond with your baby before he/she is born...

Disadvantages: Expensive.

Well, as anyone who's read my profile will know, hubby & I had an 'extended wait' for our precious little one, with pregnancy finally resulting from a successful cycle of IVF (please see my IVF review). To finally find myself pregnant was amazing...& I wanted to make sure I made the most of every moment of it (aside from all the aches & pains of course!).

Following on from my previous medical history, we were given extra ultrasound scans throughout the pregnancy (in addition to the usual 12 & 20 week scans). These extra scans were wonderful & provided great reassurance & it was so exciting to see baby's development. With this in mind, & the prospect of this being our only pregnancy, we decided to splash out & opt for a private 4D scan also (4D scans are 3D images, with the added dimension of movement).

There are many private clinics offering such scans around the country as they are becoming more & more popular. These clinics are usually based in larger towns & can easily be located on the internet. Luckily, I live near the 'See My Baby' centre, based in Hull. (To anyone who may be interested in 3D/4D scans, it is in my opinion worth a journey if you don't happen to have a clinic located close by). This review will focus on 'See My Baby', although most of the information will pertain to other imaging clinics also.


SERVICES AVAILABLE/BOOKING:

Prior to booking, we followed up on an information leaflet we were given by the IVF unit by browsing the clinics website - www.see-my-baby.co.uk. There are several 'packages' available, suiting a range of budgets (some prices vary dependant on whether the appointment is weekday or weekend):

Sneaky Peak Scan:

15 minute scan in 3D/4D to see baby.
Two glossy photos in 6x4 presentation folders to take home.

£85.00 Mon-Fri only



Fetal gender scan:

A 15 minute 2D baby ultrasound scan appointment to determine your baby's gender.
3 black and white images on thermal imaging paper.
These scans are performed after your 18 - 20 week hospital scan to ensure a high degree of accuracy.
We cannot give 100% accuracy on these scans though.

£65.00 Mon-Fri only



See My Baby in 2D:

2D conventional black/white scan.
DVD recording of scan.
Black/white thermal 2D images.
1 black/white image on photo paper.
Reassurance of baby's well being.
Sexing of baby if requested.

Monday to Friday - £100.00
Saturday or Sunday - £120.00



See My Baby in 3D:

CD Rom with 10 3D images.
Black/white thermal 3D images.
1 colour 3D image on photo paper.
Reassurance of baby's well being check.
Sexing of baby if requested.

Monday to Friday - £150.00
Saturday or Sunday - £170.00



See My Baby in 4D:

Revolutionary technology provided by GE Healthcare allows you to see your baby moving in the 3D scan image format.
DVD recording.
CD Rom of images. Number of images depends on the position of baby.
Black/white thermal images in 3D format.
2 colour 3D images on photo paper.
Reassurance of baby's well being check.
Sexing of baby if requested.

Monday to Friday - £195.00
Saturday or Sunday - £220.00

(Prices/details above are taken from the See My Baby website & are correct as of October 2009).

Having decided to 'go-all-out' & opt for the 4D package, we called to arrange an appointment at 29 weeks into the pregnancy. A scan at this stage would mean that baby would be big enough to see plenty of detail, but whilst also having room to manoeuvre! (3D & 4D scans are recommended for between 26 & 32 weeks, for optimal clarity, whilst 2D scans are best carried out between 20 & 26 weeks).

It's worth remembering that such scans are entirely non-clinical, & should an abnormality be found on the scan, then the sonographer will halt the scan (giving a reason) & suggest that you see your consultant ASAP (no medical advice will be given). The consultation is painless & harmless - ultrasound technology has been subject to hundreds of clinical studies for over 30 years and has not been found to cause harm to either mother or baby.

The staff are all fully qualified sonographers - See My Baby Imaging is owned and managed by 3 partners with many years collective experience in Ultrasonography and Radiography and all 3 have spent the majority of their working lives working with pregnancy from gestation to birth. Each of the partners is state registered with both the College of Radiographers and the Health Professions Council and all are members of The British Medical Ultrasound Society.

Prior to appointment day, we received a letter confirming the booking (no payment was necessary until after the scan), & a car parking pass.


APPOINTMENT DAY:

See My Baby is located at The Deep Business Centre, Hull. 'The Deep' is an aquarium attraction, & the business centre is located alongside. Since parking is at a premium so close to a major tourist attraction, visitors are required to sign in at the front desk of the business centre, where they can obtain a car parking pass to display & avoid fines/charges. (We required an extra pass as my parents also went along to the appointment).

Then we headed on down to the See My Baby suite. The suite is small & includes a comfortable seating area, which is partitioned off from the ultrasound area. The suite has a lovely cosy feel, with dimmed lighting & is modern in design. There is provision for up to 5 guests at the scan.

After a short discussion regarding the scan (with questions such as did we want to know the sex of the baby?), & also our preference for labelling on the DVD/CD-ROM (such as 'Our Baby', 'Our Son', 'Baby Samuel' etc), we were taken through to the scanning area.

The scan itself lasted approx. 30 minutes, & included 4D, 3D & 2D imagery, all of which was being recorded onto DVD in real-time. I was asked to move around slightly to optimise the imagery, but since a full bladder is not required for this type of scan I was comfortable throughout. Hubby & parents were sat alongside, & we all had a great view of the monitor throughout the scan. (Tissues are also provided as it can be very emotional!).

The imagery was fantastic. The sonographer (who incidentally had also carried out some of my scans during the IVF treatment!) took her time to explain different things & although these type of scans are not 'medical' was able to give us updated measurements etc. She even told us our son had a dimple in his right cheek (which at the time we weren't sure whether to believe or not...but sure enough he does!), which just goes to show the amount of detail from such scans. As well as being a wonderful, emotional experience, it was also very reassuring.

Following the scan we waited back in the seating area whilst our DVD & CD-ROM were prepared. As well as still images, the CD-ROM also contains several short clips from the scan, whilst the DVD has the full scan, set to complementary music. We also received 2 colour 3D images in 'Baby's 1st Photo' holders, & a number of black & white 3D images. All items were housed in See My Baby wallets/cases & presented in a See My Baby bag, along with a discount voucher for future scans.

There are many 'extras' which can also be bought/ordered - such as frames, images printed onto canvas etc. Extra copies of the DVD can also be bought for an extra £10 each. We didn't buy any additional items, although we were very tempted by the modern images on Perspex blocks.

Customers are also reminded to check the DVD/CD-ROM as soon as possible, as images are only stored for a short period of time.

Finally, we paid our £195 (gulp!) bill via credit card (all methods of payment are accepted, as well as See My Baby gift vouchers). Yes, it was a lot of money, but it was worth every penny in our opinion.


MY OPINION:

The scan was well worth the cost. The peace of mind & happiness it brought was well worth it. It was lovely for my parents to be able to see their grandson for the first time too. The sonographer made us feel very at ease & our appointment didn't feel rushed in any way (we were there about an hour in total).

We've watched the DVD twice so far - once after the appointment, & once again after our son was born. We can vaguely see some similarities at some points of the scan (especially the dimple!), & it is such a lovely keepsake, & something that I hope our son will treasure too as he grows up. (If only these scans had been available in my parents day.....!).

Since the 3D images were recorded onto CD-ROM, it was easy to upload the images to my PC & to internet photo-sharing sites, which has enabled my friends & relatives around the world to view them (& yes, my profile pic is one of those images!).


A line from the See My Baby website sums up the service perfectly:

A truly unforgettable moving experience that's yours to treasure for life.

What more can I say....?!

Summary: Wonderful staff & service...will go again if I ever have another baby...