Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

Just wanted to share this information, I know most don't give ultrasounds and doppler use a second thought. Take it for what you will.

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/pultra.html

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/252/5/669.full.pdf

http://journals.lww.com/clinicalobgy...Is_All.17.aspx


http://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-iib-ultrasound-not-as-safe-as-commonly-thought


http://www.naturalnews.com/028853_ultrasound_fetus.html

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...oundwagner.asp

http://midwiferytoday.com/articles/u...undrodgers.asp

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasound.asp

http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/m...e.php?id=13145

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/natio...2-9579bf0b1cc6

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1364783/Ultrasound-scans-linked-to-brain-damage-in-babies.html


http://www.motherandchildhealth.com/...ltrasound.html

http://www.greenhealthwatch.com/news...ound-hurt.html

http://www.mothering.com/pregnancy-b...out-ultrasound


http://www.ehow.com/about_5767461_dangers-fetal-doppler_.html

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I've always believed the less scans you do, the better for the baby, and have been upset that now they do so many sonograms. In my last pregnancy they did an early sonogram for dating purposes at around 7 wks, the 20 week sonogram, and 2 late trimester sonograms to check fluid and size of baby at 40 and 41 weeks. My Dr. made me feel as if I was possibly endangering my baby by not doing an sonogram and being obtuse by trying to refuse.

I'm curious how they followed up the left handed and brain damage correlation with sonograms. I know that lingering scans of the same area can over heat tissues, and that the baby will try to move away form being scanned during the procedure. It's curious to see how conventional science will overlook certain studies, simply because the baby isn't obviously deformed when born, when they can have a whole host of non-visible issues that only come to light many years down the road.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

Absolutely, there's no way to tell what kind of long term effects they may be having. By the way, you are totally within your rights to refuse any U/S you don't want. According to the JAMA (second link) pretty much every U/S that is routinely done should not be.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

If it weren't for ultrasounds, a dear friend of mine wouldn't have known that her daughter had a two vessel cord, and that she needed to deliver 2 weeks early. Her daughter could have died without knowing that about her. I'll take a couple of ultrasounds over my child possibly dying.

Life is full of risks, some of them are worth taking. The amount of healthy babies vs. non-healthy babies born these days, greatly shows that at times, having an ultrasound is necessary. I bet that people that do NOT get ultrasounds, and then have something happen during, before, or after birth that could have been prevented/figured out WITH an ultrasound, wish they would have had one.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I'm not saying that ultrasounds do not have their place, they really do! If we hadn't had one done on our 3rd child with hydrocephalus, we could have had far more serious consequences than what did occur.
What I was pointing out is that you usually only need one, not 4. The early ones are absolutely not necessary, unless determining weather or not you have miscarried, especially since the first trimester is when the most damage can occur.
Providers used to be more cautious and only proscribing one at the 20 wk mark to determine if there are any abnormalities, and at the very end if there were complications. Now they are routinely given multiple times. People can walk in off the street and pay for a scan as many times as they want. The wealthy even buy there own ultrasound machines, so they can see their baby anytime they want.
The real issue is that there are studies that show the more times you get an ultrasound the more damage is being done. Unseen neurological damage is happening each time you get one. Getting one sonogram isn't going to do much damage, getting multiple ones could.
I know I will get one done at 20 weeks, because I believe in knowing about abnormalities before birth. I'm going to try and keep the # of scans down to a minimum and pass on the early scan to determine dates. I've always hated those trans-vaginal wands anyways :yuck:!

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I couldn't have said it better myself. I personally won't have an ultrasound without some medical indication, but I totally understand those who want that one ultrasound to look things over. It has become incredibly routine to do SO many during a pregnancy though, and that concerns me. That's the reason I shared this, because if you're thinking there are no risks, then it's no big deal to have however many ultrasounds. However, if there may be risks it might be prudent not to accept all of these ultrasounds.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I'm not trying to be difficult at all but I just wanted to mention that there are always gray areas. To the bolded above, very early ultrasounds are absolutely necessary for me as I have a history of ectopic pregnancy. My first ectopic pregnancy seemed to be progressing normally and there were no concerns until my tube ruptured and I had massive internal bleeding before I made it into surgery. Had they not gotten me in the OR when they did I would have died. I now have two small children and I'm not willing to take the chance that it could happen again. I get early ultrasounds to check make sure that the embryo is implanted where it's supposed to be. I typically get two early on to check placement and then not again until 12 weeks and then 20 weeks. However, I think moderation and knowledge is important with this along with everything else in life. I wasn't aware of risks in my first pregnancy and I used my home doppler all the time. This time my intention is to only use it if I have concerns later in the pregnancy and am feeling lack of movement. I will get the ultrasounds when my doctor doctor and I decide that it is medically appropriate.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

:hugs: I am so sorry for your loss! I'm also sorry that I left out that I was talking about normal, complication free pregnancies and not all pregnancies. Certainly people who are considered high risk must have a few more. I know I did! A friend who was a Ultrasound tech advised me to, "Come in anytime and I'll scan you for free, to keep track of things!" when she found out about the brain cyst in my 3rd child. I only went once, because I didn't like to take advantage, but between that one and the regular scans, plus the ones for checking the cyst growth, I had at least 11 ultrasounds before he was born. I know a few of those were necessary, but a lot of them were medically unnecessary, especially the one done by my friend. I'm not saying ultrasounds aren't medically necessary at all, they are, just that they can be considerably over used.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I know most of us have probably heard about how we are not sure about the risks of sonograms, I know I have. I have had numerous US's for numerous reasons with all of my pregnancies. I think its something that we all need to make our own decisions about. Im not trying to be rude or offensive, but it gets really tiring to see people trying to educate others about this danger or that danger or this or that or whatever. We are all capable adults who can research or talk to our chosen providers about these concerns. I really hate coming here or to my facebook to be shown all these links about how horrible ultrasound is when I've personally had more than a few. Im comfortable with it and the benefit outweighed the risks for me, but this still bothers me to see it shoved in my face all the time.

Re: Potential Risks Associated With Ultrasound And Doppler Use
 

I was not looking to shove anything in anyone's face. If it wasn't for a similar type post I never would have known about the potential risks. No provider ever shared that there could be any risks, and I never gave it a second thought. I had monthly ultrasounds with my oldest son, if I'd been fully educated on the matter my choice would have been not to have them. This post is strictly an effort to make sure people do know this information so they can make their own educated decision on a matter they may never have previously given a second thought. If this is not a safe place for me to share my pregnancy related thoughts and information I probably don't belong here. I'm all about women making educated choices, you have to have the information to do that, and sometimes you don't know to seek out information on a particular topic until someone suggests there might be reason to look into it.