Frequently Asked Questions

Gender at 13 weeks?

Yes our sonographers are UK qualified, HCPC regulated and have experience in scanning at this early stage in your pregnancy

What if I don't wish to know the gender of my baby?

Not a problem! Gender reveal is a free option on scans 13 weeks and over. Just let us know at the time of your scan. We can even keep it a secret for you to find out later with a heartbeat bear or confetti cannon. 

What is HCPC?

HCPC is the regulatory body of many health professions - radiographers being one. The NMC is the midwives and nurse regulatory body and the GMC is for Doctors.

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UK Qualified - is this important?

A lot of scanning studios have scan technicians who are not qualified and have never worked in hospital ultrasound departments.
At Insta-Scan we believe that only fully qualified UK trained obstetric sonographers can give you the piece of mind that is so important in pregnancy.

If you see or hear the term non-diagnostic then the people doing the scan are not qualified.
Would you take driving lessons off someone who had no license and had never had driving lessons themselves?

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Are Ultrasound Scans safe?

There is currently no evidence to suggest that ultrasound scans are harmful. Ultrasound during pregnancy is widely accepted as safe for both mother and baby. We scan within the guidelines set out by BMUS (The British Medical Ultrasound Society) and do not scan for longer than is necessary. Our ultrasound machine is used in accordance with the manufacturers safety guidelines. For further information please see the below links from Health Protection Agency and Public Health England.

It is perfectly normal for parents to be concerned about any risks that ultrasound scanning may pose for the fetus. Parents should be well informed about both the risks and benefits of ultrasound scanning before making any decision to carry out a scan, both at our boutique and at hospital.

The following links will provide you with lots of useful information to help you feel comfortable in making a decision to book your scan with us:

HPA guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ultrasound-and-infrasound-health-effects

British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) https://www.bmus.org/

BMUS statement regarding ultrasound safety https://www.bmus.org/

BMUS statement regarding public safety https://www.bmus.org/

PHE and HPA statement regarding Ultrasound: what it is, how it works and impact of exposure https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ultrasound-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-the-impact-of-exposure/ultrasound-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-impact-of-exposure

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Where are we based?