Patient Education: understanding your scans, tests and reports
A report you cannot read is not information. These guides explain what each scan looks at, what the words in your report mean, what a screening result can and cannot tell you, and when to come back — in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Most of the fear in a pregnancy comes from the gap between a report and an explanation. A scan report is written for the doctor who ordered it, not for the woman it describes, so words like increased nuchal translucency, echogenic focus, notching or AC below the 10th centile arrive without context. These pages close that gap. Each one covers a single scan, test or condition, states plainly what it can detect, and — just as importantly — what it cannot.
Start here
Choose by where you are in the pregnancy, or by what you have been told.
The one distinction worth learning
If you take a single idea from this hub, take this one: screening and diagnosis are different things, and almost every misunderstanding in prenatal care traces back to confusing them.
A screening test — the combined first-trimester test, the quadruple test, NIPT — returns a probability. It sorts pregnancies into higher and lower chance. A low-risk result does not mean a condition has been excluded, and a high-risk result does not mean the baby is affected. It means the next conversation is about whether to do a diagnostic test.
A diagnostic test — amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling — examines the baby’s own cells and gives an answer rather than a probability. It carries a small procedure-related risk, which is quantified for you before you decide.
No scan and no test can promise a healthy baby. A detailed anomaly scan is thorough, but some conditions develop later in pregnancy, some are too small to see, and image quality is affected by the baby’s position, the amount of fluid and the mother’s build. Every page on this site states its own limitations for that reason.
How to read your report
Check the dating first
Almost every measurement is interpreted against gestational age. If the dating is wrong, the percentiles are wrong. Dating is set by the earliest good-quality scan, not by the last one.
Read the whole report, not the impression
The summary line at the end is a compression of everything above it. An isolated finding and the same finding alongside two others mean entirely different things.
Do not search a single term on its own
Searching one phrase from a report returns the most alarming association first, stripped of how common, how mild or how isolated the finding is.
Bring everything to the consultation
All scans from this pregnancy including the films, blood results, screening reports, and records from previous pregnancies. Context is what turns a finding into a plan.
Longer reads
These articles answer the questions patients ask in the room, at more length than a service page allows.
- The difference between a dating scan and a viability scan — two names that are used interchangeably and should not be.
- What is a dating scan — why the first scan sets the calendar for everything that follows.
- First trimester must-haves — practical preparation for the first twelve weeks.
- Preparing for a pregnancy after a loss — what is worth doing before trying again, and what is not.
- Nutrition during pregnancy — what the evidence supports, without the supplement marketing.
In your own language
Understanding a report and understanding your situation are two different things, and the second one usually needs your own language. The same material is published in Hindi and Marathi — not translated word for word, but written for how patients actually ask these questions.
हिंदी पेशेंट एजुकेशन · मराठी रुग्ण शिक्षण
Consultations are held in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Other ways to learn
Some things are easier shown than written. The video gallery has Dr. Kunda explaining common topics; case of the month follows a single real scenario from finding to outcome; the FAQ covers appointments, preparation and what to bring; and patient resources holds the downloads and checklists.
If you already have a report and want to know whether it needs a second look, you can send it in before booking.
Education is part of the care, not a substitute for it
These pages are written to make a consultation more useful, not to replace one. Where a pregnancy needs scans, screening decisions, procedures and management of the mother’s own conditions, all of it can sit with one specialist, or run alongside your own obstetrician.
More from the blog
Two more posts patients reach for often — one on the ultrasound system every scan here is performed on, and one on pain relief options in labour.
Questions patients ask
Are these pages a substitute for a consultation?
No. They are written to make a consultation more useful. The same finding means different things at different gestations and against different histories, so your own report needs to be read alongside your history and examination.
Who writes and reviews this material?
Dr. Kunda Shahane, MBBS, MS (Obs & Gynae), FIFM, FMF (London). Every page carries the date it was last reviewed, and the guidelines it relies on are cited at the foot of the page.
My report says something is “isolated”. What does that mean?
It means the finding appears on its own, with the rest of the scan normal. Many findings that sound alarming carry a very different significance when isolated than when they appear alongside others, which is why the whole scan matters more than one line of it.
What is the difference between a screening test and a diagnostic test?
A screening test gives a probability and sorts pregnancies into higher and lower chance. A diagnostic test examines the baby's own cells and gives an answer, at the cost of a small procedure-related risk. A screening result never confirms or excludes a condition on its own.
If my anomaly scan was normal, is everything fine?
A normal anomaly scan is genuine reassurance, but it is not a clearance. Some conditions develop later, some are too small to detect, and visibility depends on the baby's position and other factors. This is why later scans exist rather than being a sign that something was missed.
Do I need a referral to be seen?
No. You can book directly. If your own doctor has referred you, the report goes to them as well, so your pregnancy care continues in one direction rather than two.
Is this material available in Hindi and Marathi?
Yes. Both language hubs carry the main scan and screening topics, written for how patients ask about them rather than translated line by line. Consultations are held in all three languages.
Why does every page repeat its own limitations?
Because a test presented without its limits sets up a false expectation, and the moment that matters most is the one where something unexpected is found. Stating what a test cannot do is part of consent, not a disclaimer.
I firmly believe that explaining a diagnosis is never an optional extra. When a patient truly understands our findings, she becomes an active participant in her care. I’d always rather spend extra minutes drawing diagrams or simplifying medical terms than let a family leave with a correct report but absolutely no peace of mind.Dr. Kunda Shahane MBBS, MS (Obs & Gynae), FIFM, FMF (London)
- ISUOG Practice Guidelines: performance of the routine mid-trimester fetal ultrasound scan
- ISUOG Practice Guidelines: performance of first-trimester fetal ultrasound scan
- ISUOG Practice Guidelines: invasive procedures for prenatal diagnosis
- Fetal Medicine Foundation, London
- PCPNDT Act, 1994 — Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Kunda Shahane, MBBS, MS (Obs & Gynae), FIFM, FMF (London) · Last reviewed: 13 September 2026
Related pages
Still not sure what your report means?
Bring every scan, film and blood result from this pregnancy to Dhantoli, Nagpur. No referral is needed — you can book directly.
Mayflower Clinic, Surdham Complex, Behind Silver Palace Building, 2nd Lane from Panchsheel Square, Opp. Yashwant Stadium, Dhantoli, Nagpur – 440012 · Monday–Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Sunday closed
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