Going Ultrasound Free {Risks of Ultrasounds}

I was not long after we announced that we were expecting a baby, that the questions started to pour in:

“Do you want a boy or a girl?”–I want a baby, people!

“Are you going to find out the baby’s gender?”–Nope!  I love surprises.

“Disposable or cloth diapers?”–Well, considering that my baby is the size of a poppy seed, neither for now, but in the future cloth. [I will blog about that later]

“Have you picked a name already?”–You bet we have!  We waited for this for several years, so we picked out names for all of our kids and have a few extra just in case if we have a football team instead of an average America family .

“You will have to share baby’s first ultrasound image when you get it.”–Nope! Not happening!

How Ultra are Ultrasounds?

It was a few years back, way before we started to make baby plans, I was driving to work and heard a radio newscast that shed some light on ultrasound effects.  In short, there was a study done that showed that ultrasounds slow down/interfere with the brain development in a growing fetuses. It was then and there that I resolved to NEVER subject my baby, whenever I was going to have one, to any dangers of ultrasounds.

Now that I am pregnant, I get more and more of “Why not?” or “If there are risks, the benefits outweigh them, so do it!”

Really?  You are telling me if there was even a 30% or even 10% chance of your kid getting hit by a bus this morning, the benefit of him going to school by himself would outweigh the risk?  No! I doubt!  I am sure that you would take a day off work, put your kid in the car and make sure to safely deliver him to school.

Well, ultrasound risks are no different.  If your baby is in your stomach, it does not mean that s/he is safer because he is on the inside of you.  They can still be exposed to a lot of dangers: junk diet, alcohol, cigarettes, ultrasounds, etc.  But… before you throw any stones at me, tell me that I haven’t a clue what I am talking about, because your doctor told you that ultrasounds are safe [just as did mine tell me that the meds that drove me crazy would have no side effects], or write hateful comments I might have to delete, let me back myself up with studies.

[Source]

Studies on Risks of Ultrasounds

[Source]

Possible Birth Defects

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning; “Ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effect in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature.” A rise in fetal temperature can cause birth defects and significant damage to the central nervous system. Researchers have also looked into a possible link between ultrasound screenings and autism.

Pre-Term Births

A study reported in the “American Journal of Obstetric Gynecology” found that women who had ultrasound examinations had a larger number of preterm births compared to women who received manual pelvic examinations during their pregnancies.

Smaller Babies

A study reported in the “Lancet” suggests that frequent ultrasound scans may result in the growth restriction in the womb. During the study, 1,415 women received ultrasound scans five times during their pregnancy, while 1,419 women were scanned only once. The women who were more intensively scanned gave birth to smaller babies.

Brain Abnormalities

In a study conducted on mice at Yale University, researchers discovered that exposure to ultrasound waves on the unborn mice had a negative effect on brain development. The longer the exposure, the greater the damage. A co-author of the study, Dr. Pasko Rakic states, “Ultrasound has been shown to be very beneficial in the medical context…our study warns against its non-medical use.” [I can guarantee that a mother, who is 1-2 months pregnant, unless she has some serious issues, has NO medical reason to get her baby "scanned". Most of what you hear is: "I want to make sure s/he is ok." OR "I want to hear his heart beat; find out his gender..." etc., etc., etc. 90+% of the time I do not hear a woman getting a scan because of medical reasons."

Unknown Effects of Repeated Exposure

Audible sound travels at 10 to 20 thousand cycles per second. Ultrasound travels from 10 to 20 million cycles per second. In a study conducted in 2001, a small hydrophone was inserted in a woman's uterus. The recorded sound reached 100 decibels, similar to a subway train coming into a station. In addition to sound, vibration and heat affect the fetus during an ultrasound.

The exposure to the fetus depends on the equipment, length of procedure and number of procedures. Long and short-term effects of accelerated sound waves on a developing fetus are unknown. Beverley Beech, a consumer activist in the United Kingdom calls routine fetal ultrasound "the biggest uncontrolled experiment in history."

The Temptations

Trust me, I can see the temptation a woman can feel wanting to SEE her baby, especially during the first trimester.  When there is no movement and no big growth going on, unless you have some physical symptoms, you are left wondering: "Am I really pregnant? Is the baby OK?" etc.  I know because I am going through it right now. There is nothing more that I want right now than to peek on the inside to make sure that the little fellow is OK!  But trust me, if you have a little patience, in eight weeks or so, unless you get morning sickness, you will get to see your belly grow and feel your baby move.  I personally think that it is worth the wait, as hard as waiting can be.

How did our mothers and grandmothers survive without ultrasounds?  Just fine.  None of us, non-ultrasound babies, are worse off not having been seen beforehand.  If we follow in their foot steps we might just find out that waiting is normal!

"But, but you don't understand--I have health issues and concerns!"--I sure do.  If you read my recent post, and know that I am coming through reversing hypothyroidism, and in the midst of doing it again, and have been diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumor, and am coming off strong medication, you will know that I have concerns too... but I choose to have more faith in the fact that my body is in motion of doing what it should, and, unless something terrible happens [which, of course, I pray it won't], I won’t be calling to schedule my baby’s first “photo session” .

I think that there comes a point in our lives when we have to give up wanting to be in control all the time and let the nature take its course… even in our pregnancies. Nine months will still be nine months, and even if you take 10 ultrasounds you cannot hasten the day of your baby’s birth… Oops, wait!  Yes, yes, you can: “A study reported in the “American Journal of Obstetric Gynecology” found that women who had ultrasound examinations had a larger number of preterm births compared to women who received manual pelvic examinations during their pregnancies.”

Medical Benefits?

When I first posted a link to the above cited article [by the way, I do have more references, should you want them], I received a few interesting responses on Facebook.

“I know there are risks, but it’s SUCH peace of mind to see them and know they are growing as they should.”--Really?  Again, would you send your kid to a bus stop by himself if you knew that there are risks involved?  I surely doubt that.

“That’s one thing that I take the chance with! I love those ultrasounds!!! I typically get 2 per pregnancy- one to calculate due date and one to determine gender.”–I can tell you of a better way to calculate a due date, and waiting to find out your baby’s gender is not worth the risk of putting your developing child through being exposed to extra heat, which is damaging, and the horrible effect of sound on those developing body parts and the vibration; not to mention the fact that ultrasound technicians/OBs routinely make mistakes determining baby’s gender.

“I never heard of the risks of ultrasounds until after baby #3….discussed it with my OB and the benefits outweighed the risks for me.”–What are the benefits? Do pray tell me! And what do you expect from doctors?  They are trained salesmen–they blindly believe what they are taught in schools; oh, and when  you are looking forward to the ultrasound to make sure that your baby is OK, your doctor is looking for problems!

One reader dared to repost my post, since she is also preggo, and here is what she got:

“Quit reading this stuff, silly! It’ll just make you doubt your faith and trust and I know you don’t wanna do that! Keep that chin up and know you and your lil one are taken care of. ”–And why do we have brain exactly?  God did not give it to us so that we put it on layaway, no sirree. If we have scientific data to back up certain facts, should we not listen to them? Or maybe if we have faith that jumping off a bridge is good for us, we should do it too?  We have to be careful, because often we mistaken our faith with our emotions, and our emotions are a fickle, fickle matter .

I can quote more, but you get the point. Here is what I would love to tell you: If you err, err on the side of caution! 

Now, let’s see if there are actual benefits.  So, you get an ultrasound, and let’s say that you find out that there is something wrong with the baby.  You are not sure what, and neither is your doctor, since he is not really holding the baby in his hands, so he speculates.  He predicts that your baby will have a club-foot [true story], and NOTHING can be done anyhow.  You have to wait.  So now, instead of enjoying your pregnancy you are worried sick for the remaining four, three, five months.   Hmm… maybe I am thick skulled, but I fail to see any benefit in this.  Oh, and once you have your baby, you find out that she is perfectly normal!  No club foot–just two perfect feet .  ”What a relief!” you might think.  Really?  I would be looking for that doctor, who put me in the stress mode, to give him a club foot.  But… I know that some of you might just be grateful that all is well.  That is not good enough for me! And that is why the medical community gets away with so much.

Another true story, happened to someone who went to the same church with us a few years back: You have the ultrasound and the doctor tells you that your baby’s guts are outside her body–she will be born dead, or will die the moment she is born.  ”WHAT? This should be a happy pregnancy,” you cry… and cry… and cry… So, you are praying for a miracle, you are stressing… and your child is born absolutely normal.  Could it be that it was like the doctor said? Yes. Could it be that God performed a miracle? Totally!  But I will bet that the ultrasound was inconclusive and the doctor was wrong!  Isn’t that a possibility?  Yet you spent the last few months a nervous wreck.  How can that be good for you, your marriage, or your baby? I am still failing to see the benefit.

See, for many years before the ultrasounds came around, BTW, there are still no long-term studies that have been done how they effect children throughout their lives, doctors told women that X-Rays were a good thing and they were routinely performed on all pregnant women.  But with time we got wiser [or so we think... hard for me to tell since we are now scanning women with things that are stronger than x-rays], and now we know that X-rays are dangerous not only on pregnant women, but to every human in general.  Just imagine what we are going to discover about the side-effects and dangers of ultrasounds in another 20 years!  And that is how we should make our decisions–long-term.

And, let’s be honest, who really needs 5 ultrasounds to make sure that the baby is OK? [An average America mother gets around 3-5 ultrasounds per pregnancy.] Why not just put a camera in your uterus instead, so you can see them 24/7?  I could see the temptation [not justification] for one, or maybe two–max, if there is a problem, but anything else is total madness to me.

Would I Ever Consider Getting an Ultrasound?

I can tell you that there would be only ONE thing, and I would have to fight through it, to ever make me even consider getting one.  If I am pregnant and my baby is fine, but all of a sudden s/he stops moving for an extended period of time [whatever is abnormal], that would be the only time I would be willing to take the risk.  That is it!

Sore Spot

I know that for a lot of you Moms and expectant Moms out there this is a sore issue: you do not want to feel guilty for wanting to see your baby, know his/her gender, or just have a peace of mind. Well, this is NOT a guilt trip, just an informational post to, hopefully, help you make better decisions in the future.  Doing something, not knowing the side effects, is one thing, especially because we have been taught to trust our doctors so blindly, but becoming educated to make better decisions is a whole different playing field. Don’t you agree?

I think that most women are getting ultrasounds done without even considering the possibility of any risks.  They are doing it because everyone is, and because OBs, and even midwives, are now routinely offer them… oh, and because it is totally trendy!  Have you seen those 3D and 4D ultrasounds? How cool  are they?  Why not see what your baby really looks like?  God forbid you will have to wait three more weeks to do so face in face!  Oh, and it would really make an awesome baby book picture!

[Source*]

Shall I say this again?  Here is what your baby has to go through during ultrasounds: hear a sound “similar to a subway train coming into a station. In addition to sound, vibration and heat affect the fetus during an ultrasound.” and heat/raised temperature “…can cause birth defects and significant damage to the central nervous system. ” See if you want to take a picture of that for the baby album.

*Here is the promo from the web-site where I found this image: MEET THEM TODAY-LOVE THEM FOREVER! 3D/4D ultrasound technology has the greatest impact and power to start a relationship and love for your unborn baby. Come see why The Belly Factory is the provider of 3D ultrasound Chicago parents love.

Are you kidding me? So, if you meet your child when he comes out of your belly you will love them less?  Or do you somehow love him less when he is on the inside of you, just because you have not seen him?  Only an idiot would say/think that!  My baby is barely visible, and I have not felt him/her move yet, but I already love him/her FOREVER! My relationship with my long awaited kiddo started way before s/he was conceived.

Sheesh… Sorry, that got me MAD .

Thoughts?

So, what are your thoughts on this now that you know the dangers of ultrasounds?

[I wonder how many angry unsubscribes I will get after this post.. hmmmm... Off to make my morning juice to feel better about myself ]

Related posts:

1. Disappearing Male {Why Living Chemical Free is Important}
2. Even Saints Miss the Mark Every Now and Then [Medication Free Pregnancy]