Fetal Medicine & High-Risk Pregnancy Scans in Bangalore
A fellowship-trained fetal medicine pathway under one radiologist. Dr. Nayana N Sunku performs and reports every scan personally — NT, anomaly, fetal echo, Doppler and serial growth surveillance — and discusses the findings with you in the same visit.
Referrals from obstetricians and fertility specialists across Bengaluru are welcome, as are self-referrals from women who have been told their pregnancy needs closer monitoring.
Why a dedicated fetal medicine pathway
In most imaging centres the scan is acquired by a technician and reported later, often by a radiologist the patient never meets. In a fetal medicine context that separation matters, because the decision about what to measure next is frequently made during the scan itself — a soft marker seen at 19 weeks changes what the rest of that examination looks for.
At Nitara Scans the same clinician holds the probe, writes the report and explains it to you. Dr. Nayana N Sunku is a female radiologist with DMRD, DNB Radiology and a Fellowship in Fetal Medicine, registered with the Karnataka Medical Council (Reg. No. KMC100585), and has been practising for over fifteen years. Your obstetrician stays in charge of your care; this is the imaging arm of it.
The high-risk pregnancy scan pathway
Timings are the usual windows. Your own schedule is set by your obstetrician and by what earlier scans show.
Dating / viability scan
Confirms an intrauterine pregnancy, the heartbeat, the number of babies and — in twins — chorionicity, which determines how closely the pregnancy is watched from then on.
11 weeks – 13 weeks 6 daysNT scan
Nuchal translucency, nasal bone and early anatomy, combined with your blood markers to give a first-trimester risk estimate. The window is fixed and cannot be reopened.
18–22 weeksAnomaly scan (TIFFA)
A systematic survey of the brain, face, spine, heart, chest, abdominal organs, kidneys, limbs, placenta, cord and amniotic fluid.
20–24 weeksFetal echocardiogram
A dedicated cardiac study where there is a family history, maternal diabetes, a raised NT, or a suspected cardiac finding on the anomaly scan.
16–24 weeks, as indicatedCervical length
Transvaginal measurement where there is a history of preterm birth, cervical surgery or a multiple pregnancy.
24–38 weeksSerial growth & Doppler
Interval growth against your baby's own curve, amniotic fluid, placental site and umbilical, middle cerebral and uterine artery Doppler.
Pregnancies commonly referred
- Maternal age above 35, or a first pregnancy after fertility treatment
- Pre-existing or gestational diabetes
- High blood pressure, or a previous pregnancy affected by pre-eclampsia
- Thyroid, autoimmune or renal disease; epilepsy or other long-term medication
- A previous baby with a structural or chromosomal condition
- A family history of an inherited condition, or consanguinity
- Twins or higher-order pregnancy
- Conception through IVF or ICSI
- Previous preterm birth, second-trimester loss or cervical surgery
- A recurrent pregnancy loss history
Findings that prompt a review
- A raised nuchal translucency measurement
- A high-risk double marker, quadruple marker or NIPT result
- A soft marker reported on the anomaly scan
- A baby measuring below the 10th or above the 90th centile
- Reduced or absent fetal movements
- Low or high amniotic fluid
- Abnormal umbilical or uterine artery Doppler
- A short cervix on a routine scan
- A low-lying or morbidly adherent placenta
- Unexplained bleeding or abdominal pain in the second half of pregnancy
For referring obstetricians and fertility specialists
If you are referring a patient, the process is deliberately short.
1. Send the referral
WhatsApp or call +91 74111 74999 with the clinical question and the gestational age. A slot is usually offered the same or next day; urgent cases are accommodated where the schedule allows.
2. The scan
Performed and reported by Dr. Nayana personally, against the clinical question you asked rather than a generic template. Images are stored and available for comparison at the next visit.
3. The report back
Same-day report in most cases, sent directly to you as well as given to the patient. Where a finding needs discussion, Dr. Nayana will call you before the patient leaves rather than leave it to the report.
Serial surveillance cases — IUGR, monochorionic twins, diabetic pregnancies — are booked as a block so the same operator measures at every interval, which is what makes interval growth comparable.
Screening results and genetic counselling
A screening test gives a probability, not an answer. When a first-trimester combined screen, a quadruple marker or an NIPT result comes back above the risk threshold, the useful next question is not "is something wrong" but "what would change management".
Depending on the finding, that may mean a more detailed anatomy scan, a fetal echocardiogram, a repeat scan at a defined interval, referral for formal genetic counselling, or a discussion of diagnostic testing such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis — procedures carried out at a tertiary centre, with their own risks and benefits to weigh. Dr. Nayana will explain what your result means in your particular situation and co-ordinate the onward referral with your obstetrician. Nothing is decided in a hurry, and no test is recommended that would not change what happens next.
What an ultrasound cannot tell you
Ultrasound is safe, non-ionising and the primary tool in prenatal imaging, but it has real limits and it is better to know them beforehand.
- A detailed anomaly scan detects many, but not all, structural conditions. Some develop later in pregnancy, and some are not visible on ultrasound at all.
- Image quality depends on the baby's position, the amount of amniotic fluid, gestational age and maternal body habitus. A repeat scan is sometimes needed simply for a better view.
- Screening tests estimate risk; they do not diagnose. A normal result reduces the probability of a condition but does not exclude it.
- Ultrasound cannot assess intelligence, behaviour or most metabolic and single-gene conditions.
- The sex of the baby is never determined or disclosed. Nitara Scans is registered under the PCPNDT Act, 1994 (Registration No. 3060) and complies with it without exception.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fetal medicine specialist do that a routine scan does not?
Fetal medicine is the sub-specialty concerned with the health of the baby before birth. A routine pregnancy ultrasound confirms dating, growth and general wellbeing. A fetal medicine assessment goes further: it interprets a finding in the context of your full clinical picture — your history, blood screening results, medications, blood pressure, diabetes status and any previous pregnancy events — and works out what should happen next and when. At Nitara Scans, Dr. Nayana N Sunku holds a Fetal Medicine Fellowship alongside DMRD and DNB Radiology, and performs and reports every scan personally rather than delegating acquisition to a technician and reporting remotely. In practice that means the person measuring is the person interpreting, and you discuss the findings with her in the same visit rather than waiting for a report to reach your obstetrician first.
Which pregnancies are usually referred for fetal medicine review?
Referral is common when something in the history or in an earlier scan raises a question. Typical reasons include maternal age above 35, pre-existing or gestational diabetes, high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia, thyroid or autoimmune disease, a previous pregnancy affected by a structural or chromosomal condition, a family history of an inherited condition, conception through IVF or ICSI, twin or higher-order pregnancy, a raised nuchal translucency measurement, an abnormal double marker or NIPT result, a soft marker seen on the anomaly scan, reduced fetal movements, or a baby measuring smaller or larger than expected. A referral is not a diagnosis. Most pregnancies reviewed in a fetal medicine setting turn out to need nothing more than closer, better-timed monitoring for the rest of the pregnancy.
What is the scan schedule for a high-risk pregnancy?
The schedule is set around your specific risk, not a fixed template, and your obstetrician remains in charge of overall care. As a general framework: a dating or viability scan in the first trimester; the NT scan between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days, which is a fixed window that cannot be repeated once passed; a detailed anomaly scan between 18 and 22 weeks, sometimes preceded by an early anatomy scan from 13 to 18 weeks; a fetal echocardiogram from around 20 to 24 weeks where there is a cardiac risk factor; cervical length measurement where preterm birth is a concern; and serial growth scans with umbilical, middle cerebral and uterine artery Doppler through the third trimester where growth or placental function is being watched. Intervals between scans are decided case by case.
Can you tell us the baby's sex?
No. Under Section 22 of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, determining or disclosing the sex of a foetus is prohibited in India, and advertising any such service is a criminal offence. Nitara Scans and Diagnostics is registered under the Act (Registration No. 3060, Samsung V7 ultrasound machine) and every examination is conducted in strict compliance with it. The sex of the baby will not be revealed at any point, in any form, by any member of the team, and we ask patients and families not to request it. This does not limit the clinical value of the scan in any way: everything relevant to the baby's structure, growth, circulation and wellbeing is examined and discussed with you in full.
Does an abnormal screening result mean something is wrong with the baby?
Not on its own. Screening tests such as the NT measurement, the double or quadruple marker, and NIPT estimate a probability. They do not confirm a diagnosis. A result reported as high risk means the chance is higher than a defined threshold, and most babies in that group are subsequently found to be unaffected. What the result does change is the next step: it may lead to a more detailed anatomy scan, a fetal echocardiogram, referral for genetic counselling, or a discussion about diagnostic testing such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, which carry their own considerations. Dr. Nayana will explain what the number means in your specific situation, what each option involves, and co-ordinate onward referral with your obstetrician where it is needed.
Book a fetal medicine appointment
Nitara Scans and Diagnostics, 24A Cross Rd, Garden Layout, Sector 2, HSR Layout, Bengaluru 560102. Monday to Saturday, 9 AM – 8 PM. Reachable from Koramangala, BTM Layout, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur, Electronic City, JP Nagar and the wider south and east of the city.