Womb With a View

Illustration For TIME by TERRY COLON

For many expectant parents, nine months is just too long. Not willing to wait for the birth of their child and the accompanying flash photos, American and British parents-to-be are shelling out $200 and more to ultrasound centers with cutesy names like Prenatal Peek and Babyview for high-res, golden-hued ultrasound images of fetuses in their amniotic homes. It's not hard to see the appeal. The latest advances in ultrasound technology — from grainy 2-D to glorious 4-D with accompanying DVD — produce images that are impressive, showing facial features, hair, fingers, toes and even a fetus' sex. Some companies throw in...

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