At Kingston Maternity Unit you will be offered screening tests for yourself and your baby. This is in accordance with the National Screening Committee Guidelines.
At the beginning of your pregnancy you will be sent the National booklet: Screening tests for you and your baby. This booklet is also available in other languages if needed.
You will also be offered blood tests at your ’Booking Assessment’ appointment to screen for Sickle cell and Thalassaemia, Haemoglobin, Blood Group and Antibodies, Rhesus Factor, Syphilis, Hepatitis B, Rubella Susceptibility and HIV.
Scans
It is normal to have two routine scans during your pregnancy. There may be more scans if you are carrying more than one baby or if you experience complications during your pregnancy.
You will be offered an early ultrasound scan between 11+5 and 13+6 weeks of pregnancy. The first scan is to confirm the pregnancy and check your baby's heart rate, count the number of babies, measure the length of your baby, to check it correlates with your dates and to estimate a due date. At this scan you will also be offered scrrening for Down's Syndrome.
The second scan is your anomoly scan. This is carried out between 19 and 21 + 6 weeks of pregnancy. This is a detailed scan to assess your baby's growth and assess their physical development.
Screening for Down's Syndrome
At Kingston Hospital we offer Combined Screening for Down’s Syndrome. This involves having an ultrasound scan followed by a blood test which will give you a risk factor for having a baby affected by Down’s Syndrome. The risk assessment is carried out by The Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Hospital. Find out more...
The 11-14 week scan
When you arrive for your first scan you will come to the ultrasound department. A qualified Ultrasonographer will take you in an ultrasound room and check your date of birth and the first day of your last menstrual period.
For the first scan you should come with a full bladder and the ultrasonographer will use warm gel on your lower abdomen and a scanning probe to view your baby.
The sonographer will need to concentrate on your baby therefore we advise that you do not bring more than one person with you. We are unable to tell the babies gender at the first scan. During the scan the sonographer will:
- Measure the crown-rump length (CRL), which helps us to date the pregnancy and give you an expected due date
- Diagnose multiple pregnancy
- Diagnose early pregnancy failure
- Diagnose major foetal abnormality
- Assess the chance of Down’s syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities
- Assess the uterus for fibroids and the pelvic area for ovarian cysts or pelvic masses
The 18-20 week scan
The second scan you will have is your Anomaly Scan. This is a detailed scan to assess your baby’s growth and look at the physical development of the baby. It is taken:
- To assess the foetal growth by measuring the head and abdomen circumference and the femur length
- To assess the placenta
- To assess the amniotic fluid
- At this stage it is possible to check for gender, please ask if you would like to know
- Check for major abnormalities
Contact Us
For further information, please contact Balvinder Reehal, our Antenatal Screening Co-ordinator, on 0208 934 6440 or via our Contact Form.