The early pregnancy scan is used to check your baby’s development. It’s sometimes called your dating scan as it helps to show how many weeks pregnant you are.
It’s also used to pick up health conditions or chromosomal conditions. However, scans are not 100% accurate and not all conditions can be picked up by a scan.
The early pregnancy scan is offered between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.
The purpose of the early pregnancy scan is to:
Occasionally a scan will detect a health condition or chromosomal condition. Let your midwife know if you don’t want to know about these conditions.
You might also be offered a nuchal translucency (NT) scan. This can be performed at the same time as your early scan.
This scan:
If you’d like an early pregnancy scan, but don’t want to know if your baby may have either Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome, please discuss this with your midwife.
Learn more about screening for Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome
Last updated:
23 January 2023