For example, if the baby is face down, we may not be able to see the mouth and nose, to look for a cleft lip. Or, with abdomen and chest down, we often cannot see the heart well enough to see each chamber, the valves, the inner walls of the heart, and the large vessels leaving the heart. In those cases, we may ask you to return in a day or two in the hope the baby has moved. We do not make an additional charge, but consider the second scan a continuation of the first scan. Here is the consent form we ask you to sign if you are referring yourself for a prenatal ultrasound.
Some European countries have laws that require ultrasound during every pregnancy.
Some patients obtain their obstetrical care from sources that do not provide ultrasound except for clinical indications. Sometimes these patients want an ultrasound and will pay for it themselves. You will have a complete prenatal ultrasound exam even if you only want to know the gender and get a picture. Prenatal ultrasound is not perfect, and we can and do miss abnormalities. A normal prenatal ultrasound examination by no means guarantees a normal baby at delivery.