Ultrasounds during pregnancy
Ultrasounds can be a great tool , if there ar
e concerns for you baby or you are having a high risk pregnancy. But before you rush to schedule that appointment for your ultrasound be sure to pause and clarify your intention.
The World Health Organization and the USA Food and Drug Administration have rejected routine screening because there is “a distinct lack of definitive research supporting the safety of ultrasounds.” The World Health Organization also warns that ultrasounds should only be used during pregnancy “when medically necessary”. The fact is that ultrasounds are largely unstudied and the long -term effects of ultrasound are unknown.
The FDA’s office of Science and Technology says that some studies suggest exposure to diagnostic ultrasound during pregnancy may have an effect on human development, such as delayed speech in children. The FDA also states that “ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effects in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature.” A rise in temperature can be damaging to developing tissues which is the main reason pregnant women are told not to use hot tubes or saunas during pregnancy.
Jim West has compiled the largest bibliography of human ultrasound studies including a large study done in China where thousands of women volunteering for abortion, were exposed to carefully controlled diagnostic ultrasound. The abortive mater then analyzed and compared to women who were only exposed to sham ultrasound. Scientists assessed brain, kidney, cornea and immune system tissue and determined that, ” the ultrasound exposure required to produce damage to the human fetus is very low.”
Not only has the safety of ultrasounds been debated for years but the accuracy and reliability of ultrasound results have been called into question as well. So lets take a look into why are ultrasounds used.
Ultrasounds are done routinely during pregnancy at 8 and 20 weeks. Also remember that the doppler used by your health care provider to check your babies heart beat each visit is ultrasound technology. At 8 weeks an ultrasound is done to date your pregnancy and give you a due date ( is that really medically necessary?? Count out from your last period to figure it out.) and it can also screen for genetic disorders like down syndrome. So consider; do you have any risk factors for having a baby with down syndrome? If your not 35 or older or have a family history of down syndrome you have a very low risk of having a baby with down syndrome. Then consider would you terminate the pregnancy if your baby had down syndrome? If the answer is no why are you going for your 8 week ultrasound? If the answer is yes weigh your options out is the risk to a health baby worth it?
At 20 weeks the ultrasound will check for any structural abnormalities. This is also really rare – remember 95% of pregnancies are completely normal! If there is a structural abnormality (ex. fetus is missing an arm), you can still technically terminate the pregnancy, would you if you found this out? This ultrasound also makes sure the heart has formed properly, remember your health care provider listens to the heart beat at every visit – if there was a problem or an indication something was wrong they would pick it up. Other things that the 20 week ultrasound checks for is where your placenta is sitting and how much fluid is in your uterus. However the results of these two things are not very reliable and often correct themselves by the follow up ultrasound.
We want to believe that this intervention is improving the health of pregnancies, but that is not what has been demonstrated. There has been no improvement in mortality rates for mother or baby since the regular use of ultrasounds and high false positive rates are anxiety-provoking at best and at worst result in terminations for abnormalities significantly less severe than perceived by ultrasound.
The bottom line is that ultrasounds has effects on the body that are not yet fully understood. A sound wave is capable of making a change in developing tissue that is either thermal, vibrational or mechanical in nature. If the results of your scan would not alter the course of your pregnancy, please consider whether you really need to have an ultrasound. There’s a lot we don’t know yet. We should turn over every rock and first ensure there is no harm being done before recommending every women – even those with normal pregnancies get ultrasounds. Its your baby. Your body. Your decision.
If you have any questions or concerns please call the clinic 289-926-0026.