Uses

How people use fake ultrasounds

Nearly everyone who buys a novelty scan wants one of five things. Here they are, roughly in order of how often they come up, with what tends to work and what tends to backfire.

Pregnancy announcements

This one surprises people: a lot of novelty scans are bought by people who really are pregnant. Some don't want their own scan, with their name and clinic on it, posted online. Some had their first scan at a clinic that didn't hand out prints. Some want a cleaner picture for a card or a photo shoot, or a "big brother" shirt reveal before the real appointment.

If that's you, two tips. Match the week to your story; a card that says "see you in spring" next to a 20-week-looking scan will confuse the relatives who count. And keep your real scan for yourself.

Gender reveals

A scan on a cake, in a balloon or in a sealed envelope handed to the person running the party. The scan is just a prop here; the real answer usually comes from the clinic or a blood test, written on a card by the sonographer. A novelty print with "It's a girl!" on it is a stand-in, and that's fine, as long as the answer on it is the real one.

Film, theater and photo props

Props departments need scans all the time: on a fridge, in a hospital scene, on a desk. Using a real patient's scan would raise consent questions, so a made-up one is the right call. For screen work, think about legibility. Small header text looks like noise on camera, which is usually what you want, and a fake clinic name avoids putting a real hospital in your film.

Baby shower games

"Guess the week" with a set of prints, or "whose scan is this?" with the parents' baby pictures. Nobody is fooled and nobody is meant to be. A low-risk use if there ever was one.

Pranks

The April Fools' classic: a partner, a brother, a best friend at work gets a scan and a "we need to talk." It can be funny. It also goes wrong more often than any other use, so read our ground rules first. The short version: pick someone who will laugh, tell them within minutes, and never pick someone who has been trying for a baby or has lost one.

A prank that runs for days isn't a prank anymore. Somebody has told their mother, or started to panic about money, and now you're managing a lie.

Uses we won't help with

A fake scan shown to a doctor, an employer, a landlord, a school, a court, an insurer or a benefits office to get something: time off, a lighter workload, money, a housing decision, a later deadline. A fake scan used to keep a partner from leaving, or to get money from them. These cause real harm, and in many places they are crimes, usually fraud or forgery. We cover why in ground rules.