Saturday, 30th August 2008
Was that a smile? Unborn child now on video
Claudette Gatt and James Ryder get a clear picture of their 30-week baby. 4D imaging helps detect defects in the unborn child.
As Claudette Gatt looked at the ultrasound screen, her eyes misted over and her face lit up with a big smile.
"He looks just like him," she said, pointing at her partner, James Ryder.
Rather than looking at conventional ultrasound images, state-of-the-art 4D technology allowed the couple to see a clear moving picture of their 30-week baby.
"It was an amazing and unbelievable experience," Ms Gatt said afterwards, her face glowing with happiness.
She agrees that seeing her son so clearly will help her bond with him even more.
"Although there are still 10 weeks to go, and babies do change, when I think of him now, I will be imagining the face. I was able to see his face, nose and facial expressions." It has also made her even more eager for the delivery date.
"I can't wait. But this is my second child and I have learned to be patient," she said.
Ultrasonographer Romain Muscat-Baron said studies have shown that clear imaging helps parents bond more strongly with their child, especially fathers. This seemed to be very true for Mr Ryder.
"She can feel the baby, while for me it is different. It was very nice to see him and know that he is real, not just her getting fat," he joked.
But apart from giving parents a clear picture of their child with movements in real time, 4D imaging is a very important diagnostic tool which helps detect defects in the unborn child, Mr Muscat-Baron said.
"This allows the doctor to plan the birth to avoid any harm to the mother and child."
In fact, although the technology is available at Mater Dei Hospital, it is only being used for high-risk pregnancies to make sure everything is progressing smoothly.
The technology can be life-saving because it can pick up foetal defects that are difficult to see with a normal ultrasound.
The equipment is usually found in big medical centres or private hospitals, and can be used throughout the pregnancy.
Although the equipment has been available for some three years, Mr Muscat-Baron said it has only just started being used regularly and he has an agreement with the Health Department to offer his services at Mater Dei Hospital.
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Comments
Kindly refrain from comments such as yours. I can proudly say that when my son was diagnosed with holoprosencephaly (i do not think i spelt it right) back in 2006 we where immediatly scheduled for a 4D, this was easily accessible and it was Mr Muscat Baron that confirmed that it was in fact Hydrocephalus and not Holo.... For your info before going to St Lukes i went to a private clinic where the diagnosis was totally incorrect (using 4d). By being able to view the baby and to a certain extent his features, we where put at ease as before you did not know what to expect. I can easily say that 4D helped us accept more the situation of our baby and plans for operations and all arrangements where done beforhand, following the 4D exam and the spot on diagnosis of Mr Muscat Baron. Altough since then our son passed away, I remember that after the 4D when holding the picture of our son helped us cope and gave us more courage to face the hard road ahead.
Thanks Romain from B Cassar Saguna
We have had cases were a defect was diagnosed on 4D and the Obtetricians elected to do a ceasarian section, the babies were then taken to surgery where a specialist team who were already prepared operated on the babies. The outcome in these cases has been positive. Had the pregnancies progressed without any prior diagnosis, the outcome might not have been so good.
Thank you Joseph Castillo, Mr Castillo is a specialist in MRI imaging and Malta should be proud to have people like him.