Hihi,
Rachoho: If i am not wrong, doing a detailed scan can range anywhere from 250$ upwards.
Detailed Scan at 20 Weeks:
You will be offered a detailed scan when you are between 18 and 22 weeks pregnant (NICE 2008) to check that your baby is developing normally, and to have a look at where the placenta is lying in your uterus (womb). This is called the anomaly scan or mid-pregnancy ultrasound scan (NSC 2007).
This scan's main purpose is to confirm that your baby is developing normally.
Most hospitals allow you to watch the scan, which takes about 15 minutes, as it is being performed. If you haven't already had a scan in this pregnancy, the person performing the scan (sonographer) will check that there is only one baby, and confirm your due date.
She will point out your baby's heartbeat and parts of his body such as his face and hands, before looking in detail him. At this point, some sonographers will turn the screen away for the rest of the scan and show you views again at the end.
By 20 weeks, it's often possible to see whether your baby is a boy or a girl.
Your baby's internal organs are looked at in cross section, which may be difficult for you to make out. Bones appear white on the scan, fluid is black, and soft tissues look grey and speckled.
•Your baby's head is usually examined first. The main job of the scan will be to check its shape and structure. However, although rare, severe brain problems will be visible at this stage. The sonographer will try to check your baby's face for a cleft lip, but cleft palates inside a baby's mouth are hard to see and are not often picked up on scans.
•Your baby's spine is checked in the long view and in cross section, to make sure that all the bones align and that the skin covers the spine at the back. Your baby's abdominal wall is also checked to make sure it covers all the internal organs at the front.
•Your baby's heart is looked at for its size and shape. The top two chambers, or atria, and the bottom two chambers, or ventricles, should be equal in size, and the valves should open and close with each heartbeat. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence recommends that your baby should also have a more detailed scan of the heart to examine the major blood vessels leaving the heart (ISUOG 2006; NICE 2008). This type of scan is only available in hospitals that have the right machines and the trained sonographers.
•Your baby's stomach should be visible below the heart. Your baby swallows some of the amniotic fluid that it lies in, which is seen in the stomach as a black bubble.
•Your baby's kidneys will be checked. The sonographer will check that your baby has two kidneys, and that urine flows freely into the bladder. If your baby's bladder is empty, it should fill up during the scan and be easy to see. Your baby has been passing urine every half an hour or so for some months now!
•Your baby's hands and feet are examined and the fingers and toes are looked at, but not counted.
•The placenta may be on the front or the back wall of your uterus, usually near the top (or fundus) so may be described as fundal on your scan report. Many are described as low, because they reach down to or cover the cervix, or neck of the womb. If your placenta is low, you'll have another scan in the third trimester, by which time most placentas will have moved away from the cervix. Read more about having a low-lying placenta.
•The umbilical cord: It is possible to count the three blood vessels in the umbilical cord, but this may not be done routinely.
•Amniotic fluid: There should be enough surrounding your baby to allow it to move freely.
If you have a history of going into labour too early or late miscarriage, you may also have a scan to measure the length of your cervix.
The parts of your baby's body that show how well he is growing will be checked for size. The sonographer will measure his:
.head circumference (HC)
•head diameter (biparietal diameter or BPD)
•abdominal circumference (AC)
•femur or thigh bone (FL)
The sonographer will check that his measurements agree with the due date given at your dating scan. If your anomaly scan is the first one you’ve had, it will be used to establish a date for your baby’s arrival. If there is more than seven days' difference between this date and the date calculated according to your last period, the scan date is the one that will be used.
About half of all major abnormalities will be seen at this stage. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG 2000) gives the following chances of some abnormalities, which, remember, are rare, being picked up at a mid-pregnancy scan:
•Anencephaly (absence of the top of the head): 99 per cent
•Exomphalos/gastroscisis (defects of the abdominal wall): 90 per cent
•Major limb abnormalities (missing or very short limbs): 90 per cent
•Spina bifida (open spinal cord): 90 per cent
•Major kidney problems (missing or abnormal kidneys): 85 per cent
•Diaphragmatic hernia (hole in the muscle separating chest and abdomen): 60 per cent
•Hydrocephalus (excess fluid within the brain): 60 per cent
•Down's syndrome (babies with Down's may have visible heart or bowel problems): 40 per cent
•Major heart problems (defects of chambers, valves or vessels): 25 per cent
•Autism: never seen
•Cerebral palsy: never seen
Some problems, including heart defects and bowel obstructions, may not be visible until later in your pregnancy.
If a scan reveals a serious problem, you should be given plenty of support to guide you through all the options. Although such serious problems are rare, some families are faced with the most difficult decision of all, whether to end the pregnancy.
Other problems may mean a baby needs surgery or treatment after birth, or even surgery while it is still in the uterus. There will be a whole range of people to support you through any painful times, including midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians, physiotherapists and the hospital chaplain.
(Taken from Baby Centre)