New business offers 3-D pictures of unborn babies

      WEST BLOOMFIELD — When Mary Prebish and her husband, Ken, saw the first 3-D images of their unborn son, the moment was indescribable.

     “It was amazing,” said Prebish. “You don’t know who he is, but you just love him already.”

     The technology to view 3-D images of unborn babies is not offered many places, but a new business in West Bloomfield is offering it to expectant parents in southeast Michigan and beyond.

 “It was amazing,” said Prebish. “You don’t know who he is,
but you just love him already.”

     On March 15, business owners Sy Freilich and Barry Notarius opened the doors to Oh Baby!, which offers high quality, 3-D images of unborn children so their parents can get a sneak peak at their future bundle of joy.

     “It’s such a happy business we’re in,” said Notarius, who also owns a company that sells wholesale computer hardware and software. He and business partner Freilich, who owns a water testing company, came across the luxury idea on the Internet.

     After some research and travel to check out similar places around the country, the duo decided to open their own facility in West Bloomfield.

     “We thought we could do it even better,” said Notarius. “Being business men, we were thinking of an office-type building with fluorescent lights. But we hired an interior decorator who helped us turn it into a pleasant place to be. We wanted it to be very inviting, so we spent a lot of attention to detail.”

     Guests are greeted by the receptionist in a lobby complete with firm couches designed especially for pregnant women, a juice bar and a play area for guests’ other children.

     Two private sonogram rooms feature a direct access restroom for women as they prepare to see their babies in detail for the first time. Currently, only one sonogram room is set up for use, since it costs $85,000 to outfit a room with high-tech ultrasound equipment. Notarius and Freilich hired four registered diagnostic medical sonographers to perform the ultrasounds.

     Although the sonographers are highly trained and each work at hospitals in the area, they do not dispense medical advice. Oh Baby! is a business that provides pre-birth images purely for fun.

     “We begin scanning in 2-D, then once we get the baby in an optimal position, we shift to 3-D,” said Marni Whitton, one of the sonographers who also works at Providence Hospital in Southfield. Whitton said Oh Baby! recommends women wait until they’re at least 26 weeks into the pregnancy to view the 3-D images.

     Parents can purchase a photography package anywhere from $179 to $400, which can include multiple images, prints and a CD-ROM of their baby’s 3-D images.

     “We spent the rest of the day looking [at the pictures], thinking ‘Which side of the family does he look like?’” said Prebish, who is due on May 31. “It totally makes the experience real; it really connects you.”

     Notarius makes no bones about why he and Freilich chose West Bloomfield to launch their business venture: “It’s an affluent area that has disposable income.”

     “Plus, it’s centrally located [in southeast Michigan],” said Freilich.

     Apparently the word is spreading across the state – Oh Baby! has had customers from Ann Arbor and as far away as Ludington in just its first month.

     After the images are edited to clear other objects from the baby’s face, parents can walk out with the pictures and CD within about 30 minutes after the ultrasound.

     Oh Baby! is located at 6708 Orchard Lake Road in the West Bloomfield Plaza. For more information, call (248) 855-1655 or visit www.myfirstpicture.us.