Private Gender Scan in London
Finding out whether you are expecting a boy or a girl, from 16 weeks — with your baby’s wellbeing checked at the same time, and an honest account of what the view allows on the day.
- 30-minute appointment — unhurried, where most clinics allow 20
- From 16 weeks, when the view is reliable enough to be sure
- Heartbeat, growth and fluid checked in the same appointment
- Findings explained on screen as we scan, before you leave
- No GP referral required — report and images included
CQC-registered clinic · Provider ID 1-2775844974 · HCPC-registered sonographers
What is a gender scan?
A gender scan is an ultrasound performed from around 16 weeks that identifies whether you are expecting a boy or a girl. It is a real scan rather than a novelty: while we are looking, the heartbeat is confirmed, the baby’s growth and the fluid around them are assessed, and the placenta is checked.
The determination itself is made by looking directly at the baby’s anatomy. From 16 weeks that is usually straightforward — but it depends entirely on how the baby is lying on the day, and no sonographer can control that.
It is not an anomaly scan. The detailed structural assessment of the baby’s organs is the NHS scan at around 20 weeks, arranged through your midwife, and we do not provide it. We also do not offer bonding scans — every scan here has to answer a clinical question.
Why book a gender scan?
Most people book because they want to know, and because the NHS scan at 20 weeks either falls later than they would like or, at some hospitals, does not report sex at all. Some want to plan; some simply want to stop wondering.
It also earns its place clinically. Between the 12-week and 20-week NHS scans there is a long gap with no imaging in it. A scan at 16 weeks confirms the heartbeat, checks growth against your dates and looks at the fluid around the baby — a reassurance point in the middle of the longest wait in pregnancy.
- You want to know whether you are expecting a boy or a girl
- You are 16 weeks or more and would rather not wait until 20
- Your hospital does not routinely tell you the sex
- You want reassurance between the 12 and 20-week NHS scans
- You are planning and want to know sooner
- A previous scan could not tell you because of the baby’s position
- The baby’s sex, where the position allows a clear view
- Fetal heartbeat and heart rate
- Growth measurements against your gestational age
- Amniotic fluid volume around the baby
- Placental position
- The number of babies, where that is not already known
Bleeding, severe abdominal pain, a severe headache with visual disturbance, or sudden swelling of the face and hands need your maternity unit or triage line straight away, at any hour. From 24 weeks, reduced or changed fetal movements need triage the same day — they can monitor the baby’s heart rate continuously, which a scan appointment cannot. A booked scan should never delay any of these.
Is this scan suitable for me?
A gender ultrasound is a good fit if any of these sound like you:
- ✓You are 16 weeks or more into your pregnancy
- ✓You want to know the sex before the NHS 20-week scan
- ✓You would like a wellbeing check in the gap between NHS scans
- ✓Your hospital will not tell you the sex
- ✓You are comfortable that the view depends on the baby’s position
- ✓You want the findings explained to you in the room
And when it is not the right booking
You are under 16 weeks — the view is not reliable enough to be sure, and we would rather you waited than paid for a maybe. Book from 16 weeks.
You want the anomaly scan — the detailed 20-week structural assessment is an NHS pathway scan through your midwife. We do not provide it.
You want a bonding scan — we do not offer them. Every scan here has to answer a clinical question, and this one does.
If a gender ultrasound is not the right test for you, we will say so before you book — not after.
What happens on the day
- 1
Arrive — minimal preparationNo fasting. A comfortably full bladder can help at this stage. The appointment is 30 minutes and you are welcome to bring someone.
- 2
We check your dates firstHow many weeks you are, and whether you want to be told the sex in the room or would rather it were written down for a reveal.
- 3
The wellbeing checkHeartbeat, growth measurements, amniotic fluid and placental position — done before or alongside the part you came for.
- 4
Looking at the anatomyWe look directly at the baby to determine sex. If the position is unhelpful we will try gentle repositioning, ask you to move, or wait a few minutes for the baby to shift.
- 5
Told your wayIf you want to know, we tell you on screen and show you what we are looking at. If you would rather not hear it, we write it down sealed for you to open when you choose.
- 6
Your report and imagesThe written report is usually with you within two hours, with images included, and it states plainly what was and was not clearly seen.
Why 16 weeks
What changes between 12 and 16 weeks, and why position still decides the day.
Before 16 weeks
Early in the second trimester the external anatomy of boys and girls is still similar in appearance on ultrasound. Attempts to determine sex before 16 weeks are far more likely to be uncertain or wrong, which is why we do not offer it earlier.
From 16 weeks
The anatomy is distinct enough to be identified directly and confidently in most pregnancies. This is the point at which a gender scan stops being a guess and becomes an observation.
Position still decides
A baby lying with legs crossed, curled forward, or with their back to the probe can hide the view entirely regardless of how many weeks you are. Movement, your position and a little patience often solve it — sometimes they do not.
What your report might say
This scan does not replace your NHS care. The 20-week anomaly scan is a detailed structural assessment we do not provide, and screening for chromosomal conditions is arranged through your midwife. Attend both as scheduled — booking privately changes nothing about your place in either pathway.
Boy or girl, and a wellbeing check too
A 30-minute appointment from 16 weeks with the heartbeat, growth and fluid assessed alongside — explained on screen as we scan, with your report and images usually within two hours.
How we scan gender scans
Scanned by the person explaining it
The sonographer performing your scan talks you through it and writes your report. Nothing goes to a remote reader.
Thirty minutes, not twenty
Time for the baby to move if the first view is unhelpful, and time to answer what you came in with.
Told your way
We can tell you in the room, or write it down sealed so you find out when and how you choose.
Honest about the view
If the position does not allow a confident answer, we say so plainly rather than offering a guess dressed up as a result.
Gender ultrasound — your questions answered
How many weeks do I need to be?
How reliable is it?
What if the baby is in an awkward position?
Can I find out without being told in the room?
Is this the same as the anomaly scan?
Does it replace any of my NHS scans?
Do you offer bonding scans?
Can my partner or children come?
Is the scan safe?
When will I get my report?
Other MSK scans we offer
Growth, fluid, placenta and cord Doppler from 24 weeks.
See the scan →
DatingDating Scan
Accurate gestational age and due date from 8 to 14 weeks.
See the scan →
PregnancyAll Pregnancy Scans
The full range of pregnancy ultrasound we offer.
See scans →
Further reading: coping with scanxiety, or work out where you are with our pregnancy calculators.
Where can you get a gender ultrasound in London?
Our clinic is at 5a Lucerne Mews, Kensington, London W8 4ED — a quiet mews three minutes on foot from Notting Hill Gate, serving Kensington, Notting Hill, Holland Park, Bayswater and central London.
Short-notice appointments are often available, including for people facing a long wait elsewhere. Call 0203 051 6506 for today’s availability.
Getting here
By tube: Notting Hill Gate — three minutes’ walk.
By bus: Routes along Notting Hill Gate and Kensington Church Street stop nearby.
By car: On-street parking nearby — full options in directions & parking.
Stop wondering — from 16 weeks
Boy or girl, with your baby’s heartbeat, growth and fluid checked in the same 30-minute appointment — explained on screen as we scan, and told to you however you would like to hear it.
Kensington, London W8 4ED
3 mins from Notting Hill Gate
Written and clinically reviewed by the HCPC-registered sonographers who perform this scan at IUS London — a CQC-registered diagnostic ultrasound clinic (Provider ID 1-2775844974). Your own findings are explained to you at the scan and set out in your report.
Author: Yianni Kiromitis, Senior Sonographer, HCPC RA38415 — over 20 years’ experience in NHS and private ultrasound · Reviewed 10 August 2026