After a less than great experience, MH couple opens their own facility
Published in the March 30 – April 12, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
To enjoy the Morgan Hill Life Business Profile on California Prenatal Imaging, click HERE
By Robert Airoldi
Photo by Marty Cheek
Robert Yeoman, co-owner of California Prenatal Imaging, uses an ultrasound to take pictures of Haydee Gagliardi’s baby, Giada.
People these days take pictures of their food, themselves and just about everything else. A new company based in Morgan Hill now wants to bring this life-story photography trend to a whole different level. At California Prenatal Imaging, expectant parents can purchase ultrasound pictures of their unborn child as a keepsake of the pregnancy. They can even get a video and the baby’s heartbeat audio recording inserted into a stuffed animal.
Robert and Amber Yeoman and Amber’s mother Ginger Sotelo came up with the idea to improve the ultrasound pregnancy experience after they themselves bought a package at a location in San Jose.
“We wanted an early gender reveal and we went looking locally here in Morgan Hill but there was nowhere to get it done,” Robert Yeoman, 30, said.
The married couple did find a place in San Jose but didn’t really want to drive 10 people to San Jose. But they changed their mind and loaded the family and on the way discussed what a bummer it was to chew up a half a day.
“It was a medical feeling and we thought the ambiance left something to be desired,” Yeoman said. “It didn’t feel good. The process was very informal. We got what we paid for but we didn’t leave with a good experience.”
On the way home the couple, who have been married 18 months, discussed parts and pieces in the process they believed they could do better. That eventually led to opening their company about two months ago. The space includes a warm and welcoming waiting room and children’s area and spacious, comfortable imaging rooms with the ultrasound machine.
“It was a long road in a short amount of time,” he said. “Our daughter, Lily, is now 8 months old. It’s been a journey.”
California Prenatal Imaging offers premium, elective imaging, meaning they strive to strengthen the bond between mother and baby. They stress that they do not provide ultrasound pictures or video for medical purposes.
“We are here for the guest to provide the photos they want,” Yeoman said. “We go above and beyond to make sure we get the shots.”
The company’s packages range from $50 to $250, with additional add-ons available. The 2D pictures are just that, two dimensional and flat like a piece of paper. The 3D photos map the area and the imaging equipment use algorithms that create the three dimensional picture from the womb. “We can manipulate those to get facial features, and pictures of the hands and feet,” Yeoman said.
The 4D takes multiple images per second, creating what looks like a video of the baby laughing, yawning or blowing bubbles, Yeoman said.
The company from which the Yeomans bought the machine sent a representative to set it up and ensure the software worked correctly. Then the couple recruited dozens of pregnant women through Craigslist to get free ultrasound pictures as an expert showed the couple how to use the machine.
“She walked us through the entire process,” Yeoman said. “We got hands-on live training to learn the process. It would have been easy to fake it until you make it, but we wanted to know what we were doing from the beginning.”
The Yeomans chose to base the company in Morgan Hill because the region didn’t have the service. “We are new and want to be the premier provider of this service for South County,” he said.
