3D/4D Scan
3D/4D Scan
3D scans show still pictures of your baby in three dimensions. 4D scans show moving 3D images of your baby, with time being the fourth dimension.
It’s natural to be really excited by the prospect of your first scan. But some mums find the standard 2D scans disappointing when all they see is a grey, blurry outline. This is because the scan sees right through your baby, so the photos show her internal organs.
With 3D and 4D scans, you see your baby’s skin rather than her insides. You may see the shape of your baby’s mouth and nose, or be able to spot her yawning or sticking her tongue out.
3D and 4D scans are considered as safe as 2D scans, because the images are made up of sections of two-dimensional images converted into a picture. However, experts do not recommend having 3D or 4D scans purely for a souvenir photo or recording, because it means that you are exposing your baby to more ultrasound than is medically necessary. Some private ultrasounds can be as long as 45 minutes to an hour, which may be longer than recommended safety limits.
3D and 4D scans may nonetheless provide more information about a known abnormality. Because these scans can show more detail from different angles, they can help in the diagnosis of cleft lip. This can help doctors to plan treatment to repair a baby’s cleft lip after birth.
2-D, 3-D, and 4-D ultrasounds: What’s the difference?
All ultrasounds use sound waves to create an image of your baby in the womb:
A regular 2-D ultrasound creates a cross-sectional view of your baby.
In a 3-D ultrasound, many 2-D images are taken from various angles and pieced together to form a three-dimensional image. This looks more like what you’re used to seeing in a typical photograph.
4-D is similar to 3-D, but it shows movement, so you can see your baby kicking or opening and closing their eyes.
So why don’t we use 3-D all the time if we have the capability to do so? Simply, 2-D often is more efficient. We usually don’t need 3-D to assess how your baby is developing. While 3-D can give a nice picture of the outside of your baby, 2-D ultrasound is really the standard that has been developed by experts to look for abnormalities in development and growth of your baby.
However, 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds can be important tools to assess some abnormalities that are hard to look at in 2-D, such as cleft lip. They also are helpful when we need to explain an abnormality to parents. While doctors and sonographers may be able to easily recognize it in a 2-D image, parents are often able to better visualize the abnormality in a 3-D image.
Are ultrasounds safe for your baby?
The ultrasound waves used to image the baby expose the baby to energy in the form of heat. Under some circumstances, heat can lead to birth defects. That’s why we adhere to a principle while performing ultrasounds called ALARA: as low as reasonably achievable. That means we are careful with the settings on the ultrasound machine so we use as low amount of power as necessary and we limit the amount of time needed to obtain images, thereby exposing the developing baby to the least amount of energy possible.
In its warning against commercial use of ultrasound, ACOG endorsed this statement from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine: “Although there are no confirmed biological effects on patients caused by exposures from present diagnostic ultrasound instruments, the possibility exists that such biological effects may be identified in the future. Thus ultrasound should be used in a prudent manner to provide medical benefit to the patient.”
Bottom line: When ultrasounds are performed to help manage the pregnancy and gather information about the developing fetus, I have no worries about its use.
Cost
Commercial 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds are not cheap! And having a baby is expensive these days. Don’t skip a recommended ultrasound or other testing at your doctor’s office just because you got a keepsake ultrasound and believe everything is fine with the pregnancy. Think about how you might otherwise use the money you would save from choosing not to have a keepsake ultrasound – like purchasing diapers or starting a college fund!
Safety
I already mentioned why there are concerns about the use of ultrasound with developing fetuses. I worry that the person performing a commercial ultrasound isn’t as careful about lowering the power settings on the ultrasound machine or keeping the time the baby is being exposed to a minimum.