This is quite a difficult question to answer because everyone is so different. But after almost a decade of doing 3D ultrasounds, we believe the sweet spot is 30-32 weeks gestation. Here is why:

Head down position

For the best chance of optimal images you want your baby to be “head down”. If your baby is still head up they have the ability to fold themselves in half and put their feet right up over their head. This reduces the chances of optimal images because we are dealing with not just two little hands in front of their face, but two little feet as well! Most babies turn “head down” between 27-30 weeks gestation. You might think that if you come in after 30 weeks that baby will be too squished, don’t worry this is not the case.

Developmental Features

Babies in the womb start opening their eyes from around 24 weeks. But by 30 weeks they are opening and closing them far more because they are much more alert at this stage. From 30 weeks, they also have enough hair on their head to see it floating around in the amniotic fluid. After 30 weeks we are normally able to measure their hair and tell you how long it is! How cool is that!

Image Clarity

After 30 weeks your baby will be nice and chubby, with better developed features. This provides the best chance to capture high definition images and for you to get a real sense for what your baby will look like when they arrive! A warning to all mums: we do all the work but they normally look like their dad! LOL

Emotional Connection

Probably the best thing about coming at this time is simply the emotional connection you will experience seeing your baby moving around inside your womb. They are so alert now, they smile, they cry and they look like they even laugh at times. It is truly incredible!

1. Try your best to Increase your amniotic fluid (drink 3L of water each day for at least 5 days prior to your appointment). By drinking plenty of water you can increase the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby and thats whats really makes all the difference in seeing your babys full face or not. The more hydrated you are, the cleaner the fluid will be which ensures the pictures will be as clear as possible. The most interesting part about increasing your fluid is that if you can achieve this, then it wont even matter where your placenta is (even if its anterior and right in front of the baby) we can literally just delete the placenta out of the way to get to the babies face! How cool is that?! So start drinking!! And remember, not only will drinking water increase your fluid and help us with getting you those amazing images, it also helps clean your fluid which then gives your baby a nice clean pool to swim in as well!

2. If your only coming in once for those chubby cheek images book in between 30-32 weeks for optimal results (no matter where your placenta is).

3. Ask your medical professional (GP, Midwife or Ostetrician) if your baby is head down. Although our technicians will always try their absolute hardest, breech/head up positions make it extremely difficult for us to achieve amazing images.

4. Bring along a cold juice, frozen coke or some lollies/chocolate to help get the baby moving if needed. Something cold and sugary can really do the trick of waking them up! Although a sleeping baby is adorable, we would love for them to not be too sleepy for the scan because we want to experience it all if possible, we want to see their eyes opening, some facial expressionals etc etc. We would recommend for you to maybe think about your babies movements during the day and maybe choosing a particular time of day where you think the baby might be more awake.

5. If you are 20 weeks gestation or more please arrive with an empty bladder. When getting 3D images, from 20 weeks onwards it is best to have a completely empty bladder. Your baby is now big enough where we do not need your bladder to help us anymore, in fact it will only just get in the way. YAY!

We do kindly ask when booking this type of scan to always prepare for baby to possibly not be as photogenic as we would all love them to be and to cherish the uniqueness of your baby as some babies simply love snuggling their hands, feet or to simply be hugging the placenta.

The placenta is an organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy. This structure provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing baby. It also removes waste products from the baby's blood.

The placenta begins to develop when the fertilized egg implants into your uterus wall and the baby's umbilical cord arises from it.

The position of the placenta can normally be determined by an ultrasound from 12 weeks gestation and will either be positioned on the:

1. Front wall (anterior)

2. Back wall (posterior)

3. Top wall (fundas)

4. Side walls (left or right lateral)

5. Low lying/Covering the cervix (placenta previa)

So lets talk about some scenarios! Imagine your baby is in the head down position and you have just a normal amount of amniotic fluid around your baby. This is whats going to happen...

If your placenta is either on the back wall (posterior) OR on the top wall (fundus) then it means that our camera can look through your skin directly onto your baby and you have the best chance at getting the most amazing 3d images.

If your placenta is on the front wall (anterior) then this means that our camera will look through the skin straight onto the placenta and the placenta will more than likely cover half of the babies face.

If your placenta is on the side wall (left or right lateral) then we will have one very clear side where the camera will look straight through the skin directly onto your baby and one very blocked side where the camera will look through the skin and be blocked by the placenta. In this case we would obviously hope that the baby is facing the clear side.

And finally if your placenta is low lying (where it is covering the cervix) then this is probably the hardest position a placenta can be in to get good images.

In saying all of this above, if you can do our recommendation of increasing your amniotic fluid (drink 3L of water each day for at least 7 days prior to your appointment) and you succeed in doing this then it wont matter where your placenta is because if you have enough fluid we can literally delete the placenta completely out of the way so that we can look directly onto your baby.

To finish please know that we are absolutely passionate about what we do, and we will always endeavour to get the best possible images for you on the day! We have many tricks up our sleeve, but it is a team effort.

2D ultrasound is the traditional yet basic type of ultrasound that has been used for years. They provide flatter, two-dimensional, black and white images of your baby. 2D is typically only used during any of your medical scans (so your dating scan, your 12 week Nuchal Translucency scan or your 20 week morphology scan).

3D ultrasound is an advanced method, which captures a true, three-dimensional image of your baby, its a still image (meaning, it doesn’t move like the 4D does).

4D ultrasound is an actual moving three-dimensional image of your baby in utero. Actions such as yawning, turning and even subtle movements can be seen, like opening their eyes etc. You can watch them suck their thumb, smile, cry or just peacefully sleep.

5D or Real View/HD is the absolute latest in technology and provides a “real view” inside the womb making it look more realistic than ever before! The colour of the baby in “Real View” looks like skin colour. The old technology used “gold” tones instead. “Real View” is clearest you can see your baby to date!

​​No, you do not need a referral from your doctor as a 3D ultrasound is performed as an elective request. It does not however replace your routine medical or diagnostic scans requested by your doctor.

We offer elective non-diagnostic ultrasounds anytime from 8 weeks gestation. Before 8 weeks, you often need an internal ultrasound to see anything which we do not offer at Hello Baby 3D.

The difference between Hello Baby 3D and other companies is that we take the time that others don't to ensure you are receiving the best images and video of your baby.

We understand babies in the womb run their own show and, in all honesty, we cannot rush them to show their face, we need to work with them, not against them.

If great images is your main objective for your ultrasound, then you should book our Hello Baby 3D Pregnancy Ultrasound package. It is a 1-hour long appointment which means that you won't be rushed in and out and it gives us the best chance of achieving the best images for you.

We are absolutely passionate about what we do, and our team of talented technicians will always endeavour to obtain the best possible images for you on the day.

If we are not satisfied with the images, we achieve for you (and trust us - we are perfectionists) then you will be invited for a free follow up session.

Please make sure you read our FAQ on this page titled "What can I do to increase my chances of getting amazing 3D images?" to find out how best to prepare for your Hello Baby 3D Ultrasound.

This depends on how far along you are...

If you are between 8-13 weeks we would like you to empty your bladder one hour prior to your appointment time and then drink 2 glasses of water (500-600ml) of water and hold.

If you are between 14-19 weeks we would like you to empty your bladder one hour prior to your appointment time and then drink 1 glass of water (250-300ml) of water and hold.

If you are 20-40 weeks pregnant we would like you to completely empty your bladder 5 minutes before your appointment time.

BMI is the body mass index and if you are overweight, this will mean that there is more body tissue and layers for the sound waves to travel through as the baby is further away from the transducer probe/camera so "Technically" yes, it can effect the image quality.

Having those extra layers of fat under the skin increases the distance between the probe/camera and the baby therefore it will distort the beam as the body tissues absorbs these soundwaves and as a result the images will become less clear with a fuzzier appearance.

Our experienced technicians may ask you to turn to your side or change your position to minimise the beam distortion. We have invested in the latest state of the art technology and continue to upgrade our systems whenever we can to try to overcome this limiting factor.

Please prepare that your images may not appear as detailed if this is the case. However, if you can try your best to Increase your amniotic fluid (drink 3L of water each day for at least 5 days prior to your appointment) this will help immensely with this and sometimes we do not have a problem at all because our technology is so good!

Studies have shown that ultrasounds are not harmful to the mother or baby and have an excellent safety record.

They don’t have the same risks at all as x-rays which use ionising radiation. 3D/4D/5D ultrasound utilises low-frequency sound waves to look inside the body.

The ultrasound images we capture are totally dependent upon the position of your baby during the ultrasound. If your baby is facing forward, we can generally capture excellent images of your baby’s face, hands and feet. If, however, your baby is in a downward facing position or has their face pressed up against the placenta, then capturing specific features can present a challenge.

Overall though, generally between 8-16 weeks we can see the entire body of the baby in the ultrasound but after this time the baby will get longer than our camera view so at 30 weeks for example you are really only able to see the whole face and a little bit of chest. Then we would have to go to the tummy and legs separately to see the rest of the baby.

Definitely. The machines we use have the ability to let you listen in to your babies beating heart. It’s such a great moment to hear when you’re pregnant! We also try and make sure your baby’s heartbeat is on the video recording for you to take home to enjoy over and over again or you could even purchase one of our heartbeat teddies where we record the babies heartbeat and put the sound inside a plush toy animal of your choice. These make a great keepsake or a comforter for your baby when he or she arrives.

Absolutely! We love scanning women having multiples. Unlike other companies we do not charge extra as we believe this is just unfair! All we do is evenly distribute the time of the scan across each of your babies. For example, if you are booked in for a 30 min session and have twins, we’d spend 15 mins scanning each baby. If you had the same 30 min session, but had triplets, then we’d spend 10 mins scanning each baby and so on and so forth. If you have more than 3 babies, then its probably best to give us a call and we can discuss a customised package ;-)