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Open up your baby book and take a look at your first picture. Most likely it was minutes after you were born. Times have changed – and with it technology – today your child’s first picture can be an
ultrasound picture.
The prenatal sonogram has come a long way since its inception in the 1970s. With the advent of 3D and 4D ultrasound, the images, which used to be flat and grainy, now look much more like regular photographs:
unclouded, sepia-toned if desired, and so detailed that new moms swear their newborns look like they did in the womb.
An owner of a prenatal portrait studio in Bethesda, Md., compares the difference between the 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimentional processes to that between "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Finding Nemo."
Sonographers can play with the image to come up with the best angle and clear the picture of any debris.
A 2D ultrasound refers to a regular, black and white sonogram. This examination provides you with an outline of the baby. A 3D ultrasound uses the basic concept as the 2D ultrasound technology; however, rather than taking the
image from a single angle, the sonographer has the ability to take a “volume” image. The volume image that is displayed on the screen is a software rendering of all of the detected soft-tissue - meaning your baby's face, hands, feet, or whatever the sonographer happens to be
focusing on. While a 3D ultrasound produces a still image, a 4D ultrasound (also referred to as "Live 3D") extends on the concept of a 3D ultrasound, taking multiple volume images in rapid succession. The result of these images displayed in succession is a motion video of the
baby. You can see movement, such as arm or feet movement, thumb sucking, and even smiling.
"You just feel like you already know him," says the loving mother of 5-week-old son. "The sonograms showed a lot of hair; he has a lot of hair. He had fat cheeks and his cheeks are fat. His nose
looks like it did in the picture. You could tell that he would look just like my husband James's family from the profile. So sweet."
Fenley Fearon and Andrea Page spoke of their satisfying experiences after visiting “See3D,” a 3/4D ultrasound clinic in Toronto: "Our 3-D ultrasound was amazing. We enjoyed getting to know our in-utero little boy better. He
sucked his thumb the whole time and it was truly remarkable all that we could see.”
The tremendous feelings a mother has for her child growing inside her womb are impossible to describe. The experience is different, yet wonderful, for every mother. The sensation many mothers and
fathers feel when they first glimpse at live ultrasound images of their fetal babies brings a fascinating reality and a new dimension to the parental experience of pregnancy and childbirth.
Prenatal ultrasound has been safely used on pregnant women for over 30 years. The ultrasonic waves used to image the fetus (or other organs) cannot be heard and produce no sensation to the person (or fetus) being imaged. A key benefit of ultrasound is that it does not
use x-rays; therefore, it is safe for both the fetus and the mother. The majority of American women have one to three ultrasound examinations during the course of a normal pregnancy.
If you need more information about 3/4D ultrasound services, please visit Toronto’s ultrasound clinic “See3D” web-site www.see3d.ca or call
416- 663-6996
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