A morphology scan, also known as the 20-week scan, is a detailed ultrasound that checks your baby’s development and growth. It’s usually performed between 20 and 22 weeks of pregnancy and is a routine part of prenatal care.

This fact sheet answers these questions:

1. What is a morphology scan?
2. Do I need to prepare for a morphology scan?
3. What to do before your appointment
4. What to expect during the scan
5. After the scan: next steps
6. Final tips

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What is a Morphology Scan?

A morphology scan is an ultrasound that usually takes place between 20 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. It’s a routine scan that provides important information about your baby’s growth and development.

During the scan, the sonographer will carefully examine your baby’s major organs, including the heart, brain, kidneys, stomach, and spine. They will also check the baby’s limbs, facial features, and movements. In addition to assessing the baby, the scan looks at the placenta, amniotic fluid levels,umbilical cord, and cervix to ensure everything is functioning as expected.

The scan usually takes around 45 minutes. However, if the baby is in a difficult position, the sonographer may need extra time to get clear images. In some cases, you may be asked to take a short walk or return later for a repeat scan if the baby’s position makes it hard to complete all the necessary checks.

Do I Need to Prepare for a Morphology Scan?

For most morphology scans, there is little preparation required. In general, you may be asked to wear comfortable clothing that allows easy access to your abdomen. You may be asked to arrive with a moderately full bladder, as this can help improve the clarity of the ultrasound images, especially in earlier weeks of pregnancy.

The QUFW administration team will provide you with specific information about how to prepare for your morphology scan at QUFW at the time of your booking.

What to Do Before Your Appointment

Before your morphology scan, there are a few simple steps you can take to make the experience as smooth as possible.

• Hydration: We may ask you to have a moderately full bladder, as this can help improve image quality. However, this is not always necessary, especially later in pregnancy. Please ask us if you are unsure.
• Clothing: Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows easy access to your abdomen. A two-piece outfit (such as a top and pants or skirt) can make things easier, as you’ll only need to lift your shirt rather than remove clothing. We do provide modesty sheets and gowns if required during the examination.
• Eating: There’s no need to fast before your scan. In fact, having a light meal or snack beforehand is recommended.
• Bringing Support: You are allowed to bring a partner or a support person to attend the scan with you. You are allowed to bring children with you, but we recommend a support person to accompany them in case they require attention during the examination.
• Timing: We respectfully request that you plan to arrive15 minutes prior to your appointment and allow at least 45 minutes to an hour for the scan. While most morphology scans take about 45 minutes, extra time may be needed if the baby is in a difficult position or if additional images are required.

What to Expect During the Scan

When you arrive for your morphology scan, you’ll be guided into the ultrasound room, where the sonographer will explain the process before starting.

You’ll be asked to lie on an examination bed, and the sonographer will apply warm ultrasound gel to your abdomen. This gel helps the ultrasound probe glide smoothly over your skin and ensures clear images. The scan itself is painless, though you may feel some mild pressure as the sonographer moves the probe around to get the best views of your baby. If you do feel any discomfort, please bring this to the attention of your sonographer.

The sonographer will carefully examine your baby’s development, checking the brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, spine, limbs, and face. They will also assess the placenta, amniotic fluid levels,umbilical cord, and cervix to ensure everything is functioning as expected.

If your baby is not in an ideal position to visualise certain structures, the sonographer may ask you to change positions, such as rolling onto your side. In some cases, they may ask you to stand up, take a short walk, or gently jiggle your belly to encourage movement. If the baby remains in a difficult position, you may be asked to return for a follow-up scan.

After the Scan: Next Steps

Once your morphology scan is complete, the sonographer will review the images to ensure all the necessary checks have been done. They will not provide a detailed report on the spot but will give the results to a reporting QUFW specialist doctor.

If any concerns are identified, your QUFW doctor may recommend additional scans or tests for further assessment.

Final Tips

To make your morphology scan a smooth and positive experience, try to stay as relaxed as possible. It’s normal to feel a mix of excitement and nerves, but remember that the scan is a routine part of pregnancy care. Taking deep breaths and staying comfortable can help, especially if the sonographer needs to press a little to get clear images.

Allow plenty of time for your appointment. While the scan itself usually takes around 45 minutes, extra time may be needed if your baby is in a difficult position or if additional images are required. Arriving on time and not scheduling anything too soon afterward can help reduce stress in case we are not running to schedule on the day.

Most importantly, please don’t hesitate to ask questions. The sonographer may not be able to give full results, but they can explain what they’re looking at and what to expect next. If you have any concerns, please speak to your doctor.

Video Transcript

This is an overview of the morphology scan and what to expect. The morphology scan is also sometimes called the second trimester anatomy scan. The aim of this ultrasound is to assess the structure and development of your baby where your placenta is positioned, the growth of baby, as well as the amount of amniotic fluids surrounding your baby. This scan is exceptionally important for both you and your doctors to be reassured that both the structure and size of your baby are appropriate for the gestation. It also provides information about the position of your placenta, which is important for delivery planning. For some women, this is the last ultrasound that they have for the duration of their pregnancy. Although there are myriad reasons why you or your Dr. May need or want to follow up ultrasound and here at QUFW, we are able to perform an ultrasound at any gestation for you and your baby.

The morphology scan is typically booked between 18 and 22 weeks gestation. This gestational window is in keeping with national and international guidelines and is a time point where baby is developed enough and large enough for us to assess complex structures like the heart, but baby isn’t so big that it becomes difficult to see things like fingers and toes. The morphology scan includes an extremely detailed assessment that includes baby’s heart, kidneys, brain, face, stomach, chest, spine, abdomen, arms, legs, hands and feet. All this can generally be completed within 30 to 60 minutes depending on various things, including how cooperative baby is on the day. In order to perform your scan, we will need a referral from your doctor and it can be helpful to bring scans that you have had elsewhere in relation to your pregnancy. Different clinics may ask you to prepare in different ways, so please follow the instructions provided here at QFW, we ask that you empty your bladder one hour prior to your ultrasound and then drink two glasses of water and hold your bladder until the time of your scan.

If this is possible for you, we recommend you wear whatever feels comfortable for you while also providing access to your stomach so that we can perform the scan. We also recommend that you eat as you normally would prior to the scan, as it doesn’t impact on our ability to get the information that we need. Your ultrasound is an exciting experience for you and we understand that it is important to share with your family and friends and to have them there as support as it is still a medical procedure. It is imperative that our sonographers and doctors are able to concentrate during the scan whilst taking the necessary images and measurements. Occasionally, our sonographers and doctors may need to discuss unfortunate news found during your appointment, and so this must also be taken into consideration. At QUFW, we allow two support people to attend your appointment. One of these support people may be a child. Sometimes pregnancy ultrasounds can be a long time for your little one to sit still, so we request that the other support person is a supervising adult who may be able to attend to your child during the scan if necessary. We also suggest you leave plenty of time for travel to the practice, finding a park, and making your way comfortably to our site. The morphology scan is an important milestone in your pregnancy journey and we don’t want you to feel rushed or stressed. On arrival.

When you arrive at our practice, you will be welcomed by our lovely receptionists and asked to be seated in our waiting room where you will be collected by your sonographer. In our ultrasound rooms, you will have your own large viewing screen and the sonographer will use a separate screen on their ultrasound machine. The lighting is muted in our scan rooms so that the details on the screens can be clearly seen. The scan will be performed using ultrasound gel on your abdomen to aid with transducer movement and to maintain skin contact to provide optimal imaging results. Here at QUFW, our ultrasound gel is always warmed to a pleasant temperature for the comfort of our clients. You will notice that as we assess your baby, we take images and videos to document what we’re seeing. We also take lots of measurements of baby’s head, abdomen, arms, and legs, and these are taken so that we can calculate an estimated fetal weight and correlate this with your gestational age.

This is different to earlier scans where we are able to measure baby in its entirety because now that we are in the second trimester, baby is too big for us to measure from head to bottom. We cannot predict the size of your baby at delivery from this scan, but we can assess if your baby’s size is appropriate for your gestation. Usually, we are able to get the images we need by scanning across your stomach. However, occasionally we may need to do an internal or transvaginal scan. If this is the case, your sonographer will discuss this with you on the day the ultrasound should not be painful. You may feel some pressure related to the movement of the transducer across your abdomen, and if you do experience discomfort, please let your sonographer know immediately and we can troubleshoot the issue together. On occasion. Imaging can be restricted by fetal position or various technical factors that make it difficult to obtain the necessary images and your sonographer may ask you to change your position on the bed, for example, to roll onto your side or even go for a walk or empty your bladder in an attempt to alter baby’s position.

If we are unable to obtain adequate images, we may need to rebook you for another day to follow up. If a problem is detected on your ultrasound, it will be discussed with you at the time of your appointment in this situation. Further examination may occur by one of our doctors who are maternal fetal medicine and obstetric and gynecology ultrasound specialists. We will be with you every step of the way and communicate all the information with you on the day.

Please let your sonographer know at the beginning of the scan if you would like to discover the sex of your baby. We always assess the external genitalia of your baby and this can be correlated with your NIPT results if they are available. Conversely, if you do not wish to know the sex of baby, then we are happy to keep it a secret. At QUFW, we utilize the TRIC I app to send images to your mobile device directly from our ultrasound system so you receive them immediately on your phone. From this point, you are able to send them to loved ones or print them as you wish. The sify app does not allow for the transfer of audio. However, if you would like to record the sound of your baby’s heartbeat, ask your sonographer and they will be more than happy to facilitate this. However, we do not allow the recording of your examination in its entirety for medicolegal reasons, and this is part of our QUFW policy.

Once your scan is complete, one of our specialist doctors will review your images if there was a suspicious finding that warranted further testing. This is discussed with you immediately at the time of your appointment. You will receive a copy of your report by the Tri Sify app and so will your doctor at QUFW. We know that the morphology scan is an important milestone in your pregnancy journey. We also know that there can be same anxiety surrounding this milestone. We want you to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible so you can enjoy bonding with your little bundle of joy. Please feel free to share your feelings or any questions you may have with your sonographer and we will do our utmost to make this experience a wonderful one for both you and your loved ones.