Scans

You must be an adult (18 years old or over); if you are a child (16 or 17 years old), a responsible adult must accompany you to your appointment. A responsible adult is defined as a person who is of or over the age of 18 years and is your parent, step-parent, legal guardian, grandparent or a person who is acting in place of your parent and who could reasonably be expected to exercise responsible supervision of you. A child is anyone who has not reached the age of 18 years.

Clarity is owned and run by a registered & experienced local midwife.

With care being provided by a midwife, you can assure any queries you have in relation to your pregnancy can be answered or at the very least, referred to the appropriate service.

Our midwife is experienced in fetal obstetric ultrasound and highly passionate in delivering optimal and memorable images to enhance your bonding scan packages.

Not only can you have a scan with Clarity, you can avail of complementary therapies and this will ensure you are cared for in mind, body and soul.

We recognise that not only is your scan of great importance, but time and care for you during pregnancy is what really matters to us.

A tummy scan is best performed from 8 weeks from the first day of your last period. However, if you are anxious you may attend after 7 weeks.

Please ensure you arrive with a full bladder as this helps with the imaging.

Clarity can assure you at 8 weeks of a viable pregnancy when we visualise the heartbeat. If your pregnancy is measuring less than 7 weeks, it may be difficult to get good views of the heartbeat therefore please ensure you do not book earlier than this.

If your pregnancy is 7-8+ weeks and we cannot confirm the heartbeat, we will support you and advise you on your options with compassion and time. We will always advise you on where to attend within your NHS provider for medical advice and diagnosis.

Sexing your baby is not possible until at least 16 weeks. Therefore, at Clarity, we recommend performing this scan from 17 weeks as It is best to wait until after this time to ensure accuracy and avoiding the need for a repeat scan at a later date.

It is also helpful to come to your appointment with full bladder to get the best views of your baby.

We will do what works for you! We have a gender light reveal in the scan room, we can communicate it and point out the images on screen if you prefer.

We stock gender reveal confetti / smoke cannons and gender heartbeat bears to take home and share with family and friends.

Want to be discreet? No problem – Clarity have gender reveal scratch cards also or we can write it down in a piece of paper so you can hand over to someone else if you prefer.

We are very flexible and will accommodate your request.

No gender scan is ever 100% guaranteed! However, we will do our very best to obtain optimal images but ultimately it may come down to baby themselves! Some little ones may lie in a position, such as legs closed or crossed, making visualisation impossible. If this is the case, we will advise you to move around or go for a quick walk and come back and try again.

4D scans show moving 3D images of your baby. 3D are taken in three dimension allowing you to meet your baby and see all their features before the birth.

It really is a special feature that you and the family can cherish.

That said, good 4D imaging ultimately comes down to them! We will make every effort during your scan to get good views but at times babies can face towards your back or keep their little hands and arms over their face making it impossible to see them clearly.

We will encourage you to move around to try and get baby to move. If we are unable to get facial images you will be invited back and try one more time, free of charge. If we are still unable to get facial images, we will ensure you will still enjoy seeing their little hands, feet, fingers and toes and come away with additional pictures. If you cannot re attend a second time, you will have the option of bringing home a small heartbeat bear to enhance your experience with Clarity if we cannot get a good 4D scan.

Please ensure you increase your water intake in the days leading up to your appointment as this helps get better views during your 4D scan.

Absolutely! At Clarity, we recognise the importance of sharing the experience with those significant others, including the baby’s siblings. We even have a basket of toys at hand to keep the little ones entertained so they too can enjoy their visit.

We would recommend up to an additional 4 people in the scan room.

A fully qualified, registered and experienced midwife in obstetric ultrasound practice.

Our midwife has a first-class honours degree in midwifery science and completed additional post-graduate training in ultrasound scanning for midwives module in Queen’s University Belfast as well as attending private training academies in obstetric ultrasound.

She will be with you every step of the way when you arrive at Clarity.

We want to ensure you make the most of your scan so here are our top tips:

Stay hydrated! Please ensure you increase your water intake by drinking an extra 2-3 glasses of water per day in the days leading up to your scan. This will help get clearer images of your baby

Have a snack or eat a meal an hour or so before your appointment. This will encourage baby to be active and possible move around during your scan. We have water and snacks on hand at the clinic

Wear something comfortable and loose fitting. We will need to expose your abdomen. If you feel more comfortable in a dress, we have blankets etc to place as a cover for your legs otherwise some women find it more comfortable wearing shorts under their dress.

Perfect images can never be guaranteed unfortunately. Although we will try our best to obtain views for you to cherish, some factors are outside of our control. Some of which include, but not limited to;

Baby’s position

Placental position

Reduced amniotic fluid

BMI (Body mass index)

Previous scar tissue

Do I have to be pregnant to have a treatment?

No, you do not need to be pregnant to attend Clarity for your treatment. Our complimentary treatments are tailored to your needs and suitable for Women Men and children. Reflexology is suitable for deep relaxation, ease of stress and anxiety and assists with fertility issues as well as during pregnancy.