Frequently Asked Questions
About Private Pregnancy Scans in Barnstaple at Sneak-A-Peek Ultrasound
If you miscarry - or your circumstances change - and you no longer need a scan, simply email me. I will then cancel your appointment and provide a full refund.
A full bladder enables the sonographer to see an early pregnancy clearly, so do try your best to attend your scan with a full bladder. A full bladder will decrease the likelihood that an internal scan will be required.
The best time for a 3D/4D scan is between 28 and 32 weeks. Before 28 weeks, your baby can look quite "skeletal" with 3D ultrasound, and therefore not particularly life-like. After 34 weeks, as your baby descends to prepare for exit, it can be more difficult to see their face clearly.
From 28 weeks, your baby will have some padding around their cheeks, so they'll look really cute, and you'll have the best chance of seeing their features more clearly.
An anterior placenta isn't always a problem with 3D and 4D imaging, however it can affect the quality of images we are able to obtain. Firstly, the sound waves are weakened by having to pass through the placenta and back again so the picture will not be as sharp and secondly, the placenta will generally always be in the picture as it is lying in front of the babies face. The extent to which it effects the pictures varies, as some people have a placenta that is long and thin, so doesn't impede on the pictures too much. Whereas others have a placenta that is shorter and thicker and lies right against the babies face which does impede on the pictures, meaning we are unable to see baby's face clearly.
If you do have an anterior placenta, it can help if you book your scan for earlier in your pregnancy. We advise that if your placenta is anterior you book your scan around 26 weeks, rather than 28 weeks. This is because the baby is smaller so less likely to have it's face pressed against the placenta. We need a gap in front of baby's face with a reasonable amount of fluid between baby and the placenta so the sound waves can map the face. If the baby has its face against the placenta we will get fuzzy pictures as the sound waves cannot get clear measurements around the face.
Guests
You can bring 5 guests with you (6 total, including you). That might include your partner, mum, dad, children, friend - it's totally up to you. Bring whoever you want by your side and whoever you want to share the experience with. We appreciate that childcare can be difficult to organise so feel free to bring your children along.
Yes, absolutely. You can bring 5 other guests (4 total, including you). And that can be your partner, friend, mum, dad, children - whoever you want there for support or whoever you most want to share the experience with.
Yes, absolutely. If finding childcare is tricky and/or you want to involve your children in the experience, please bring them along.
Appointments
The Sneak-A-Peek clinic is in Landkey, Barnstaple, North Devon. It's easy to reach by car from Devon, Somerset and Cornwall. If you're travelling by bus or train, we're a short bus ride from Barnstaple bus station.
We're currently open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
We do not currently offer evening or weekend appointments.
We're often booked a week in advance so it's best to schedule an appointment as soon as you decide that you'd like a scan.
For current prices, visit the services page, and select a scan type.
To book an appointment, visit the services page, identify the scan type you are interested in, and view the pricing table for booking links . Alternatively, if you already know which scan you'd like to book, you can go directly to the booking page.