When a woman finds out that she's going to be a mother is one of the most exciting feelings in the world. It can also be one of the scariest. After getting that positive pregnancy test—or five—most expectant moms call their doctor. The doctor tells them to come in so they can confirm the pregnancy. Right away, they start suggesting ultrasounds. Soon-to-be moms get excited seeing the picture of life pop up on the screen. For a while, the ultrasound will not look human. There is a pressure to get ultrasounds and to get these pictures to show off to people when they start finding out someone is expecting. But, why is that?
Ultrasounds have only been used to look inward at babies for the past 60 years. Prior to that, parents had to wait until the baby was born to know anything about it. As technology advances, we look for more and more ways to use it. Before we know it, people will be getting life-like print outs of their babies based on ultrasounds.
While there can be medical significance to getting ultrasounds, how much damage are they doing to the expectant mom and the unborn baby? Sometimes, not knowing certain things—like gender or even the potential for illness—is more of a blessing than a curse.
15 Placenta Previa Paranoia
Many moms get ultrasounds to screen for certain medical issues within themselves or their baby that could put either of them at risk. One of the conditions new moms can be screened for is placenta previa. This condition is a major complication, as the placenta obstructs the mom’s cervix. This can make pushing out the baby more than challenging, but life-threatening.
No new mom wants this diagnosis, but most of them want to know before going into labor. Ultrasounds can see if placenta previa is going to affect the mom. While knowing is good, there is nothing that can be done once the mom is diagnosed with this. Since nothing can be done, this can cause panic for the expectant mother. Worries come up, including thinking they will not be able to deliver their baby or thinking they are going to hurt their baby. They may have been better off not knowing after all.
14 Due Dates Do Not Have Much Meaning
Moms that hit the 20-week mark of pregnancy are expected to get an ultrasound for a variety of reasons. Generally, this is when the doctor can find any developmental issues that the baby has and may face through life.
However, it is around this time that the doctor can see if the mother-to-be is going to be due a little earlier or a little late, too. This is generally the result of inaccurate calculations of the date of conception. However, the due date may get adjusted by a full two to four weeks!
While this sounds like a major change, it does not really impact much. Babies decided to join us in the world when they want to, whether it is the due date or not. Using an ultrasound to try to guarantee when someone will have their baby is not an effective—nor practical—use of the technology.
13 Baking Baby Effect Can Damage The Brain
Ultrasound is an interesting piece of technology. It allows a glimpse into the womb to see something that we could not otherwise see. Ever wonder why the ultrasound jelly is kept cold? Ultrasounds work by creating pulses or vibrations and depicting what is bounced back from those pulses.
This can cause friction to build up between the baby and the ultrasound device. When friction builds, heat tends to build up with it. The baby receives all of this heat and energy, as the ultrasound is directly over them.
While this does not actually bake the baby, too much heat and pulsing can cause damage to the baby’s organs—especially their undeveloped brains. It is recommended that a minimum number of ultrasounds are undergone to avoid the risk of cavitation associated with them.
12 Growth Goes On Without Us In The Know
One of the reasons that expectant moms get ultrasounds is to make sure that growth is still happening within the womb. With conditions like growth retardation and other development issues, it can be scary to think that the little one may be too small or sick.
Many doctors and midwives tend to over-recommend how often an expectant mom should get ultrasounds done, with at least one every month. Ultimately, this exposes the baby to too many ultrasounds. Ultrasounds could be doing damage or stunting growth that we do not yet know about, as it hasn’t been tested.
Some experts say that once a baby is confirmed to be growing, scans should become less frequent. The exception would be if the mother to be is concerned and/or her tummy is not growing. In most cases, getting scans done cannot make the baby grow if it is not growing. In fact, some studies have linked ultrasounds to causing delayed growth.
11 Keepsakes Are Done With Less Training Than Regular Ultrasounds
New parents are increasingly getting keepsakes made by using ultrasounds. Keepsakes are performed in various ultrasound locations and at some specialty stores, but they are not always done by the highest-level professionals.
Often times, a new technician will be the one to get these jobs. Ultrasounds require a certain frequency output to see the baby. As stated in the cavitation portion of this article, the higher the force needed to see the baby, the more friction and heat it creates. This can cause damage to the baby’s different organs.
Keepsakes are particularly risky because they have no medical benefit. With the newer technician performing this ultrasound, they often put the output too high, which is unnecessary and can do even more damage. Ultrasounds should only be performed by doctors and qualified technicians.
10 Scans Scare More Than The Outcome Can
Ultrasounds that are done as a part of the screening process can be stressful. They can be even more stressful when they are being done because the doctor thinks that there is something wrong with the fetus—or when the doctor sees that there is something wrong with the baby on the ultrasound.
This can cause stress on both of the parents—especially the mom whose body is already undergoing so many changes for the baby. Finding out that the baby may have a huge health issue that cannot be solved until after birth can make the mother not want to attach herself to the baby.
There can be a feeling of anxiety anticipating the baby’s arrival. When that baby does arrive, it is possible that the scan was read incorrectly or that the medical issue is not as severe as initially thought. The mother endured all the stress for almost nothing.
9 Speaking Against Ultrasounds Is Easier Than Speech Impediments
With new moms getting so many ultrasounds before the baby is born, the damage that is being done is difficult to track. Something that has been able to be tracked is the correlation between number of ultrasounds performed and speech issues.
Babies that were subjected to more ultrasounds than the average baby and mother were much more likely to develop some type of speech issue. These issues can include lisps, stutters, and jumbled speech—among others.
These speech issues can be costly to remedy, if it is at all possible. Some are able to be decreased, but they will always exist. This is allegedly because ultrasounds create incredibly loud noise that goes straight to the baby during the ultrasound. This damages their hearing, which impacts how they hear themselves and others once they are born.
8 The FDA Is Against Unnecessary Ultrasounds
While our doctors and medical professionals are preaching that ultrasounds guarantee the health of the baby, various sectors of the United States government are saying otherwise—or they are not going out of their way to make sure that the public feels safe about them.
While many of the statements could be perceived as either good or bad, there are things to consider. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed concern of excessive ultrasounds, declaring that ultrasounds should be used minimally.
The American Institute of Ultrasound and Medicine has not commented back against this to say that ultrasounds are safe. Yet, mothers are being led to accept them every four weeks. Something seems wrong with the relative silence on this issue. One of these organizations needs to be clear about whether ultrasounds are safe or dangerous for both mom and baby.
7 Money Making Machines Over Health
While many of us would like to think that all medical facilities are doing what they do to help us stay at our best, that is not always the case. Medical facilities are a place of business. Generally, insurance companies absorb some of the cost, but these places are getting paid to even see expectant moms. Medical testing and emergency procedures tend to be more expensive. This includes ultrasounds. Not every ultrasound is necessary.
Much like everything else in life, tests should be researched before they are done. Weigh the pros and the cons before getting anything done and always consider the baby’s safety. Some doctors are encouraged to push ultrasounds to get more money. So, make sure to find out if it is truly necessary or if it can wait.
6 Bubble, Bubble, 3-D Ultrasound Trouble
Seeing what your baby may look like in 3-D can be enticing. You get to see what he or she will look like as soon as they are delivered and in your arms. However, although 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds are on the rise, they are not considered to be safe.
The Food and Drug Administration has even spoken out against 3-D ultrasounds. What makes these ultrasounds so dangerous? To get three and four-dimensional images, a great amount of radiation has to be produced.
This can increase the heat that goes to the baby, effecting the development of the organs and the baby altogether. Similar to keepsake ultrasounds, the people performing the ultrasound are not always trained technicians and therefore do not control the amount of radiation given off during the exam. This makes the risk even greater.
5 Inaccurate Diagnoses Can Lead To Depression
Ultrasounds used for screening purposes can cause heartache for the expectant parents and the rest of the baby’s family after the baby is born. Screening ultrasounds may not always see deformities and other issues that the baby will be born with. The technician and doctors may tell the parents that the baby is perfectly healthy.
When that baby is born, it may have significant health issues that were not seen. This generally means that the parents are unprepared to handle a disabled or sick baby and that they have not gotten the resources that they would need to take care of a baby. Not only can the parents be unprepared, but they may become unattached from the baby due to the stress of the new situation. Becoming a caregiver for an ill person can be upsetting and stressful, leading to a state of depression.
4 Brain Hemorrhaging From Diagnostic Ultrasounds
Ultrasounds give off a variety of pulses, vibrations and radiation to the unborn baby. There have not been exact studies to determine the damage on human children, but there have been studies done on animals with a similar brain makeup to humans. These animals tend to be mice, which is why they are used in most medical studies.
Scientists conducted a study where an ultrasound was done on a pregnant mouse at the same capacity as a human ultrasound. The outcome was grim. Brain hemorrhaging happened within the fetuses. Not only did that happen, but the fetuses experienced growth and development issues.
With a similar makeup to humans, are our babies at a risk because of ultrasounds? If we use the study that was done on mice, we can consider our babies at risk for hemorrhaging, cell degeneration and developmental issues. Thus, ultrasounds could be responsible—in whole or in part—for the increasing number of children we are seeing with such issues today.
3 Knowing What Is To Come Can Make Mommies Withdrawn
Mommies carry these little ones for nine months. Screening or diagnostic ultrasounds can reveal health issues that the parents never anticipated. When the mommy-to-be finds out about this, she may become withdrawn. This can happen for a number of reasons. Since a baby is a direct product of both mom and dad—but with mom carrying the baby—the mother can feel like a failure or like the illness or deformity is her fault.
In general, the mom prepares herself for the worst—thinking if they can see it on the ultrasound that the issue is going to be severe. This can become worse if the parents are told that the baby is not going to make it very long. The mother will try to not get attached to this baby so that she does not have to grieve twice. Not knowing could save the mom and dad some emotional distress.
2 The Missing Puzzle Piece To The Cause Of Autism
The use of ultrasounds and the rates of Autism are both sky rocketing. There had been rumors of ultrasounds leading to Autism, but nothing backed it up. Most people attributed it to genetics, which is still a factor.
However, the University of Washington recently did a major study on Autism and ultrasounds and found a direct correlation. The earlier an ultrasound is used on a fetus, the more likely that baby is to have Autism.
The radiation and vibrations affect the brain development of the fetus and cause issues within that child’s brain once they are born. If the child is not born with Autism, that is just a lucky scenario. All fetuses younger than thirteen weeks that are exposed to ultrasound are put at a significant risk of being diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder when they are older.
1 Miscarriages And Abortions Sky Rocket
This M-word is one that parents-to-be do not want to think about. However, it is proven that ultrasounds can lead to miscarriages. A study that was done found that women that got ultrasounds done during the 16 to 20-week marks were more likely to miscarry their baby than a woman that had not gotten an ultrasound done.
Women that received only pelvic exams were much less likely to have a miscarriage. Risks were also shown by women that were pregnant and performing ultrasounds on a regular basis. These women were more likely to have an abortion.
This is likely because they saw issues within other mothers and became fearful that their baby would be sick and that they would be unable to care for it. Working with ultrasound equipment also increased the risk of miscarriage, due to the constant exposure to radiation.
Sources: CDC.gov, saigaiin.sakura.ne.jp, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov