Choosing An Ultrasound Imaging Center That Is Right For You

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It is an exciting time to find out you are pregnant! Once you see that positive pregnancy test, you start to feel all the emotions! Being able to see the baby on an ultrasound is one of the most memorable experiences during pregnancy. You can see the baby’s heartbeat, find out the gender if you desire, watch them wiggle, yawn, smile, and even see what they are going to look like. Being able to bond with your baby, and share that with your family is something you will look back on and cherish forever. How do you choose an Ultrasound Imaging Center that will best fit your needs?

Here are a few things to consider

At Fetal Fotos we place the highest priority on you and your family during this special time in your lives.  Fetal Fotos is Utah’s Original Prenatal Imaging Center and has been serving our community since 1994. We are known for early gender determinations ultrasounds, starting at 14 weeks gestation, and have a long standing history and reputation with the community for our thorough gender checks. If we aren’t 100% certain of the gender of the baby, we will have you come back for another ultrasound free of charge on a different day. We provide a comfortable, fun environment for your family to come and see your growing baby. Our clients frequently comment on how comfortable our ultrasound bed is, and how our technicians take their time to look at the baby in a relaxed environment. It is important to remember that coming to Fetal Fotos is never an alternative to your routine prenatal care, and we do not provide any diagnostic information during your appointment. Fetal Fotos will always be committed to providing women and their families with increased awareness and a meaningful bonding experience with your baby as an addition to your prenatal care.

You may wonder if doing a blood test earlier in the pregnancy is an accurate way to determine the gender. While we don’t discourage using blood tests, we ask that you keep an open mind when you do an at home test. It is not uncommon for us to correct them when you come in for your ultrasound appointment. So while it is a super fun way to try to determine the gender earlier in the pregnancy, it is not always a sure thing until we see the gender on an ultrasound.

In the 26 years Fetal Fotos has been in business, we have helped many women and families bond with their baby and prepare for their future. Our 3D/4D HD ultrasounds are state of the art and the newest technology ultrasound has to offer.  We do everything we can to get the best pictures of your sweet baby. Similar to the recheck on the gender scan, if you come in for a 4D/HD session and your baby is being shy we let you come back again and try for better pictures on a different day. Some things are out of our control but we always take our time to get the best images possible.

As women, and the owners of Fetal Fotos in American Fork we aim to provide you with a memorable experience and a connection to a community you can be a part of even beyond your pregnancy. We believe in the power of self care and the difference that strong confident women can make on our community. In addition to our prenatal ultrasounds we also offer prenatal, postpartum, and couples massages. It takes a toll on the body and mind to carry a baby and we want you to have time to take care of yourself and feel relief from the aches and pain of pregnancy, and the stresses of life.

We are also excited to now offer Newborn Photography Sessions as part of our services. Once your baby is born, schedule a photography session with one of our amazing newborn photographers. Our in-house studio is a safe, relaxed, customizable experience that allows you to remember the early newborn stage forever.

Our boutique is stocked with gender reveal items, like cannons and balloons, and curated with all mamas in mind to include the best newborn products for your baby.

When you choose Fetal Fotos, we are confident that you will leave your experience feeling taken care of and know you have a community of women cheering you on throughout your pregnancy. We are genuinely excited for you and your family and hope to see you again and again.

xoxo

Chelsea & Kira 

Pregnancy Verification Ultrasounds

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Let’s talk about our Pregnancy Verification Session. 🙂

The Pregnancy Verification Ultrasound starts at eight weeks gestation. Here’s why!

If you are like us, the first thing you want to see when you find out you are pregnant is your little baby and his or her heartbeat. You call your doctor and they typically want you to wait until you are between ten and twelve weeks before they have you come in for an appointment. Sometimes that wait can seem like forever! You may feel a combination of excitement, and maybe even a little nervousness wanting to see the baby and hear the heartbeat! You do some research and find out that Fetal Fotos does ultrasound sessions at eight weeks. But does it really matter if you are eight weeks, or can you come in earlier?!

It does matter. 🙂 Before eight weeks at the doctor’s office they use a vaginal probe to see the baby and the heartbeat. Here at Fetal Fotos, we only use an abdominal probe and in most cases eight weeks is the earliest we are able to see the baby and verify a heartbeat. By eight weeks the baby is measuring .63 inches long and is the size of a raspberry. In most cases by eight weeks we are able to clearly see your growing baby and their heartbeat. We want you to be able to come in as soon as you can but we also don’t want you to worry if we aren’t able to see the baby yet because you aren’t quite far enough along. There are many factors that go into being able to see the baby early on in the pregnancy, but once you hit eight weeks, you’re at a perfect time to come in and see your baby and listen to the heartbeat.

When you are ready to schedule and come in for your appointment, you will be asked to keep your bladder full. Pregnancy Verification ultrasounds are the only sessions we ask for you to do this. You don’t need to drink a whole bunch of water before your appointment, just don’t use the restroom right before you come in, and you should be fine! Keeping a full bladder gives us the best chance to see your baby during this early stage.

People are often surprised how much we are able to see during the Pregnancy Verification ultrasounds. At eight weeks, you are able to see the baby and a heartbeat. Around 10 weeks, you will start to see small movements, and by 12 weeks you can see a clear profile, fingers, toes, and usually lots of wiggling!  It’s an exciting time to be able to see your baby and the beginning stages of growth and development. We love being able to provide this early ultrasound service, and for you to start bonding with your new baby.

Xoxo

Fetal Fotos 

Our Story

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Welcome to our very first blog post! We are super excited to start this and give you a more behind the scenes look into the American Fork Fetal Fotos, answer your questions, and get to know us (Chelsea and Kira) on a more personal level.

Fetal Fotos Story

We wanted to start with some back story on how and why we became the owners of Fetal Fotos in American Fork! I (Chelsea) am actually Kira’s Aunt, but you would never know because we are only four months apart in age. I grew up in Los Angeles, California and Kira in Utah County, Utah. Because we lived so far from each other growing up we didn’t really have a close relationship. As we grew a little bit older, into our early teenage years we became pen pals and wrote each other letters, and emails. After graduating high school, Kira moved to California for a summer, where we decided we would both move back to Utah and go to beauty school together. Kira pursued Esthetics, while I did Cosmetology.  Once we finished our hours and graduated I went on to do cosmetology for the next 10 years, and Kira decided to switch career paths after finding a job at the Fetal Fotos in Murray. In the years to come she had four babies but continued to work a couple of shifts each month because she loved it too much to leave. In 2017, they were looking for a new technician, and Kira suggested that I come work part time with her. I ended up loving it, and worked part time doing hair, and part time at Fetal Fotos Utah for a couple of years.

The process of buying the business started in November of 2019. Kira called me after she had finished a shift at Fetal Fotos in Murray. She had learned that the American Fork Fetal Fotos was going up for sale and asked if I wanted to be business partners!  I was completely on board! We had no idea how we were going to accomplish this, but over the next few months we spent countless hours working on how to improve and grow the business, looking for a new location to make it what we envisioned, negotiating, learning the ropes of the business side of things, designing, ect.  After nearly five months of back and forth and lots of miracles we were able to close a deal, and became the owners of the American Fork Fetal Fotos Utah in April of 2020.

So why did we do it?! The short answer is.. Our love for Fetal Fotos, and YOU!  In our years of working at the Murray location we have been able to meet so many amazing women and hear their different experiences and stories on how they became a mom. Stories of loss, infertility, adoption, surrogacy, surprise pregnancies, IVF, multiples, baby number 6, 7, 8 ,10…., we love it all. We love to see your sweet babies move and the excitement it brings to your family. We grieve with you when there is a baby that is lost, and we share in your joy when you finally get your little boy or your little girl you have been yearning for! It makes our day when your little ones become a big brother or a big sister and they are so excited to see their new sibling. We love when you get to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time after weeks that feel like years of waiting! Our whole purpose is you!! You have made us better women, and you have made us better moms. As part of our mission, we hope to connect you with other women and know that you are never alone in your worries, excitements, challenges and your journey of learning and growing each day as a mom.

We knew when we started this whole process that we wanted to provide a place where women could come and feel comfortable and taken care of no matter what stage of life they were currently in. During pregnancy our Ultrasound Sessions allow you to bring your family and bond with your new baby. We love seeing your families, and for you to be able to share that special moment with them. Our massage services have expanded to include anyone, pregnant or not, to be able to come in and relax and destress. We strongly believe in the power of self care and the need to take time for yourself. We have also added our newborn photography studio, which we are really excited about! We have seen your babies in the womb for a long time, but to see them after birth has been so exciting for us. We have two local photographers who come into the studio and do an incredible job!

People say to us all the time, “You must love your job!” and each time we can honestly answer, we really do have the best job ever. We hope you feel connected, cared for, and have a personalized experience each time you come into Fetal Fotos Utah. We feel strongly that we are supposed to use this business to make a difference in our community and to also help women and children around the world. We have big dreams, and none of it would be possible without the support of the women in our community.

 

We love what we are creating together, and cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Xoxo

 

Chelsea