Guide Dogs has launched First Hello, a new pilot scheme providing free 3D tactile sonograms to help blind and partially sighted parents, grandparents, and loved ones explore the features of an unborn baby through touch at 20 weeks, transforming traditional ultrasound images into resin models printed within seven days.
Seeing an ultrasound scan for the first time is a milestone many expectant parents take for granted. For parents with vision impairments, however, traditional 2D screen images often leave them feeling excluded from early family moments.
How First Hello Turns Ultrasound Scans Into 3D Models
The service relies on a specialized pilot scheme that converts standard 2D ultrasound images from a 20-week scan into raised tactile sonograms. Parents or family members apply through the Guide Dogs website by uploading a photograph of their scan. The process uses depth mapping and 3D modeling to recreate the baby’s features before producing a final version using a 3D resin printer. The physical models allow parents to trace the contours of their baby’s face, hands, and body before birth.
For expectant parents navigating pregnancy without sight, holding the model offers a tangible connection.
“Holding the tactile scan for the very first time was an incredible experience. I didn’t feel like I got much from our first scan appointments. First Hello gave that moment back to me. It’s so important because it’s giving parents like me that special moment.”
Reece Finnegan-Knight, expectant parent
Personal Impact and the Call for Accessible Milestones
Mum-to-be Rae Walker also shared how the tactile model shifted her experience of pregnancy. Instead of relying entirely on verbal descriptions from others in the room, she was able to make her own observations.
“Being able to feel a tactile 3D model of my baby’s scan at 20 weeks gave me a sense of independence and power that I hadn’t realised I was missing. Instead of hearing someone else describe what they could see, I could explore all the small details of my baby myself, make my own observations and build a clear picture in my head of what she looked like.”
Rae Walker, mum-to-be
That sense of exclusion remains a widespread issue across early parenting milestones. Research conducted by Guide Dogs involving 2,056 UK adults with sight loss found that 80% of parents with a vision impairment believe pregnancy milestones should be accessible. Furthermore, almost two-thirds of respondents indicated that experiencing an ultrasound through touch would help blind or partially sighted parents and relatives feel more included in the pregnancy journey.
Kerry Bevan, Head of Support Services at Guide Dogs, emphasized the broader significance of the pilot program, noting that too many individuals miss out on moments others take for granted.
“Every parent, grandparent, and loved one deserves to experience the joy of early parenting milestones. Too often, people with sight loss are excluded from significant life moments that others take for granted.”
Kerry Bevan, Head of Support Services at Guide Dogs
Availability and Practical Realities of the Pilot Scheme
The bespoke tactile sonograms are provided entirely free of charge and are printed and posted within seven days of a successful application. However, the initiative is currently operating as a small pilot project with strict capacity limits. The program can produce only around 50 models in total, and applications will close once all available places are filled.
Organizations like the Royal National Institute of Blind People also offer guidance on home safety and organization for visually impaired families. Yet services addressing early emotional milestones—such as feeling an unborn child’s features for the first time—remain rare.
Whether this limited pilot will expand into a permanent service or inspire wider adoption across health services remains uncertain as the initial batch of 50 models fills its remaining applicant slots.
