article_snippet: A foetus at 24 weeks.
article_snippet: New advice from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists rules against so-called souvenir scans before 10 weeks .
article_snippet: Souvenir scans of the unborn baby should not be carried out in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, say doctors.
article_snippet: Normally a scan would be ordered only for a potential problem identified by a clinician and in those circumstances it was perfectly safe, Dr Christoph Lees, Reader in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine at Imperial College London and lead author of the paper said.
article_snippet: A pregnant woman looks towards a scan of A pregnant woman unborn baby.
article_snippet: Dr Christoph Less of Imperial College is the lead author of the paper which advises against scans of foetuses during the first 10 weeks in the womb unless they are done for medical reasons .
article_snippet: Dr Lees said the safest period for taking souvenir scans was 20 weeks of pregnancy and beyond.