The Society of Radiographers (SoR) has recently highlighted serious concerns about private high street clinics offering mums to be baby scans. SoR has warned families that this service is often provided by unqualified individuals and in some cases, involved staff banned from working within the NHS due to being unfit to practice.
According to SoR, there have been multiple incidents of women being given significantly incorrect information such as that their baby had died, or that their baby had abnormalities, with advice to attend their hospital for an induced miscarriage – only for the devastated mums to discover that their baby was in fact continuing to grow healthily.
Other serious incidents highlighted by SoR included private high street clinics not spotting signs of significant abnormalities or signs that medical intervention was required. Missed opportunities can lead to a lack of urgent medical attention, or delayed intervention which may cause the death of a baby or result in a baby being severely brain damaged in preventable circumstances.
Sometimes used by families ahead of gender reveals, or by parents eager to see a scan of their baby, parents are advised to stick to maternity care provided by qualified staff at their local hospital for the duration of a pregnancy and up to the safe delivery of their baby.
Trained and qualified maternity staff are required to carefully monitor both mother and baby throughout a pregnancy and up to a baby’s safe birth. For most families, a pregnancy and labour will progress normally and without incident however, unexpected complications can suddenly arise – even in pregnancies thought to be low risk.
Signs that something is not as it should be can only reliably be identified – and acted on – by experienced medical professionals with access to the right team of experts around them. If something does start to go wrong – such as indicators that the baby is showing signs of distress, a reduction or change in the baby’s movements, or evidence that they are not developing as they should – may mean that medical intervention is needed.
An intervention can simply mean more regular monitoring. A red flag period showing that the baby is in trouble may normalise after a short time. On the other hand, timely medical treatment like an emergency c-section may mean the difference between a baby being born healthy and well, and a baby left severely brain damaged, or the loss of the baby to a stillbirth or their unexpected death shortly after they are delivered.
Expectant parents may be tempted to go to a high street clinic for convenience or to receive interim appointments between their official hospital scans. The significant dangers of trusting this as a reliable source of maternity care has led to some families losing their perfectly healthy baby.
Opting for private clinics for some health services may be appealing to some. The NHS is widely reported as being under pressure however, maternity care cannot be safely provided by staff lacking the qualifications, experience and credentials required to keep both mother and baby safe and well.