Your 12-week ultrasound scan is the 1st of the 2 routine pregnancy scans you’re offered on the NHS. It’s officially known as the ‘dating scan’ because it’s used to give you your baby’s due date.

What does a 12-week dating scan check for.

The purpose of the scan is to check:

• When your baby is due. An ultrasound scan is a much more accurate way of predicting your baby’s gestation (how far along in the pregnancy you actually are) than counting from the date of your last period
• Whether you’re having twins, triplets or more.
• Whether there’s a heartbeat and if the skull, limbs, organs, and umbilical cord are developing normally.
• What the position of the placenta is, and how it’s developing.
• Your baby’s NT or nuchal translucency. This is a part of your scan that you can opt out of but, combined with a blood test, this measurement of the fluid at the back of your baby’s neck can give you an indication of your baby’s risk of Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome.