3D Ultrasounds: What are they? Should you get one? Are they worth the money?

March 11, 1:31 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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3D Ultrasound picture of my baby
at 16 weeks done at Prenatal Peek of Phoenix

When you're pregnant, one of the best things your doctor can tell you, outside of the baby sounds and looks healthy and so do you, is let's do an ultrasound. I get so excited even when I see "ultrasound" on my calendar. I know it will be one of those rare chances you get when pregnant to see my baby and know what he's doing in there. There's not a much better feeling than that ultrasound wand touching your belly and on the screen pops up your baby moving around having a good ol' time in your belly. It makes it real. It reassures you. It's fun.

But until this pregnancy, I'd only entertained the idea of getting an optional ultrasound outside of a doctors office. But when I saw prices have come down a lot on 3D ultrasounds, which are high tech ultrasounds that show a 3D version of the baby including what the face really looks like, I decided this might be the chance to do something different this pregnancy. And I really wanted to know before 20 weeks if I was having a boy or a girl and I wanted to see what that little baby in there looked like. Really looked like, not just a black and white image where I had to make out hands and legs. So I scheduled an appointment with Prenatal Peek of Phoenix at 16 weeks pregnant and took my whole family to their little welcoming home.

Inside, it was not like a doctors office at all. It was very warm and friendly and smelled really nice. When I walked into the ultrasound room, there was no cold doctors office table. Instead a warm and super soft bed-like chair with a giant plasma TV, plus a sofa and chairs for guests and even a toy box to entertain my girls. Not to mention, I was greeted by Annette Wolf - a very friendly registered sonographer, who was also co-owner of the facility. It was a very nice change of atmosphere for an ultrasound. It made me wonder why all ultrasounds aren't done in a setting like this. I mean I know that doctors offices do ultrasounds for serious health reasons for babies and moms, but why not address the joy it brings to families to see their little baby at this stage. No matter, I was glad I had finally come to a place like this.

I talked with Annette about ultrasounds while I was there, as well. She has been doing ultrasounds for nine years. She's shares the joys of over 1500 families every year that come into her Prenatal Peek location. They do both gender identification 2d ultrasounds and 3d/4d ultrasounds.

"I feel really appreciated by moms and dads. It's so different than a hospital setting. It's like art in the womb," Annette says.

The first thing she does when she starts any ultrasound is look for a heartbeat. "It's not only a relief to see that. It's a miracle every time I show the heartbeat," she says.

"It brings mommys and families closer to their babies. Especially moms who've never had a baby before. They don't know what to expect really and I see so many tears of joy. To see their child up there, especially when its between 28 and 32 weeks when the baby really looks like a baby. They're just floored to see their baby's face for the first time. That's the most exciting thing about my job: to bring the mother and the child closer."

And that it does. As you see the baby on the screen, first in 2d, then in 3d, it is a great experience. Not only for me, but also for my husband and my daughters. My girls (ages 3 and 1.5) could see the big screen well and pointed up at it, as my oldest said "baby" and then when back to playing with the toys. That was a nice little added bonus that I'd never thought of with an ultrasound. At a place like this, with the baby up on the big screen, they could really understand mommy has a baby in there. Ever since, they both will point to my stomach at random times throughout the day and say baby, even sometimes coming by to just give the baby a kiss.

For my husband, and all other daddys or partners, ultrasounds are the only way to really connect with the baby, until the baby's big enough to make some good kicks. Those make it seem real. But not as real as seeing the baby up on the big screen at this early stage. My husband was really impressed and remarked several times how cool it was to see the baby on the big screen TV in such detail, though at this stage for our baby (16 weeks) he said he thought the baby looked like Benjamin Button.

Annette says for dads, these ultrasounds make the whole experience more real. "Dads see the baby moving and are like 'Wow! They move a lot.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what they do all day long everyday' and you can tell it changes things for them."

Most people get 3d ultrasounds for the memory of the experience, Annette says. "It's more life like. You can see the skin. Not just a skeleton. It looks like a real baby. It's such an experience." 3d/4d ultrasounds even show babies smiling or winking.

Lots of others come to a place like Prenatal Peek Phoenix determine the gender of their baby when ultrasound techs at doctors offices aren't sure or can't tell if the baby is a boy or girl, says Annette. But in 3d, there's no doubt. Annette says that even grandmothers will come in with their daughters or daughters-in-law and they look up at the screen and they can see girl parts and boy parts.

Annette says the best images of babies can be captured by the 3d machine at 26-30 weeks, but depending on where the placenta is, you can see the baby fantastically up through 35 weeks. (The photo at right shows a 3d image in this time frame taken by Prenatal Peek in Phoenix. You can see some more really great 3d images HERE.) And at a place like Prenatal Peek in Phoenix, if you can't see the baby clear enough, they'll have you come back in for no extra cost, which is really nice. I'm going to be going back at around 28 weeks to see the baby again at a stage when the 3d ultrasound is at its finest. (I'll add those pictures here when I get them.)

Getting a 3d scan is a growing trend for families because the prices have come down a lot since the 3d ultrasound technology came out. They used to run in the hundreds of dollars per scan, but now Prenatal Peek offers packages as low as $85, which is quite a bargain for the experience you get.

I had to also ask Annette what is the earliest she's ever been able to determine a baby's gender. Prenatal peek doesn't take appointments until women are 15 weeks and seeing a doctor, but in Annette's previous experience she says she was able to see boy parts on her co-worker's son at 9.5 weeks and on her nephew at 12 weeks. But that was only possible, she says, because the baby was in the right position and flashed all his parts. Gender determination, in general, can be done starting at 15 weeks. The later it is the better you can see the parts because baby is much more developed. Annette also noted that you should only see a registered sonographer when getting any ultrasound, 2d or 3d. Registered, experienced sonographers know what to look for and can best help guide parents through the experience.

If you're wondering, despite my baby's lack of cooperation at my visit to Prenatal Peek, Annette was able to spot boy parts! She took lots of extra time making sure and even had us go to lunch and come back because baby was happily sleeping in there and was not interested in showing his stuff. But he finally did (see photo at right) and she determined we're having a son. She only gave her findings a 85% chance of being correct (ultrasounds can be rated up to 99%) because of my little one's determination to keep his secret. I took the ultrasound images to my doctor, who agreed that it looks like we've got a little boy cooking in there. And today the sonographer at my doctors office did my 18 week appointment and said she agree with Annette. Today's ultrasound confirmed a boy!

This experience was something I'd recommend for every family, especially at a place like Prenatal Peek Phoenix which has a great atmosphere and staff to maximize the fun. Because, after all, getting an optional ultrasound is all about the fun. It does not diagnose any potential problems. It just allows families to feel closer to their babies.