NEWPORT mum-to-be Alaina Brown and her husband Lee feel even closer to their unborn child thanks to a revolutionary new scan.

Mrs Brown, of Somerton, Newport, was one of the first women to have her baby scanned by the three-dimensional Babyview ultrasound technique.

"It was so fantastic," said the 27-year-old who works in the credit control department at the South Wales Argus.

"We could see our baby's hands, feet, toes and even its eyelashes quite clearly. It makes you feel so much closer to your baby. We took the whole family, including our two-year-old daughter Alice, and they were all really excited."

Her husband Lee, a printer on the newspaper, added: "This new technology is absolutely incredible.

"We could clearly see our baby yawning and stretching and we've been recommending the scan to all our friends ever since."

The couple were given the scan as a surprise present by Mrs Brown's family after her mum saw the method being demonstrated live on ITV's This Morning.

Mr and Mrs Brown are now looking forward to the arrival of their new baby - due on the same day Alice was born, June 3.

A 3-D Babyview scan is carried out just like a traditional ultrasound scan.

However, the resulting images, viewed on a TV screen, are in colour and allow parents to see their baby moving around, stretching, yawning, and wriggling its fingers and toes.

Scan studio director, Andy Hoggard, who has been involved in the setting up of Babyview in Sheffield, is delighted with the reaction of parents.

"Three-dimensional scans bring baby imaging out of the 20th and into the 21st century. Once people have seen these amazing images everyone will want to view their own baby in this way."

* Babyview costs £300, payable in instalments if preferred. Parents receive an initial consultation, followed by the scan. The highlights are then recorded onto DVD and CD Rom to take home along with two photographs of the baby.

To find out more go to www.babyview.co.uk, call 08700 99 2830, or email info@babyview.co.uk.