Ultrasounds? How dangerous?

[StaceyinLA]

Is it really bad to have 2 or 3 during pg? Dd is due to have one around 20 weeks. She has not had one at all this pg. She is 14 weeks today and will be 16 weeks before I leave. We really wanted to find out the sex while I was still here. I was with her when she found out dgs' gender.

 

We can do a gender scan for $50 at an accredited 3D/4D center late next week.

 

It'll likely be a 5 minute or so scan and she will have her diagnostic at 20 weeks.

 

Dumb - yay or nay?

[ktgrok]

I think a quick scan is fine. The longer the exposure the more risks, although even those risks are minimal. I had 2 with my first (dating ultrasound as I had NO clue when I got pregnant, and the anatomy one), 2 with my second pregnancy (anatomy and then a biophysical profile at 41 weeks), and 2 so far with this one (dating again as I had only spotting for my period the month before, and anatomy). I am pretty non intervention, having homebirth, no extra tests, etc, but felt ok with quick scans.

[Tap]

Well, considering that with my high risk pregnancy (baby's problems, not mine), they increased the amount of ultrasounds to almost every visit....I assume the are pretty safe. If they were problematic, I would expect fewer for a high risk pregnancy....not more.

 

I have never heard of any issues directly related to ultrasounds.

[Mommy22alyns]

I had more than a few u/s with Rebecca because they were concerned about her growth. I had more with Sylvia because they needed to monitor my complete placenta previa. I don't think the u/s compromised their health in the slightest,

[Guest]

Well, considering that with my high risk pregnancy (baby's problems, not mine), they increased the amount of ultrasounds to almost every visit....I assume the are pretty safe. If they were problematic, I would expect fewer for a high risk pregnancy....not more.

 

I have never heard of any issues directly related to ultrasounds.

 

:iagree: Exactly for me, too. I could not have even counted how many I had with my 3rd and 4th babies.

[ssavings]

High risk w DD1, had about 10 ultrasounds. She was no worse for multiple ultrasounds.

 

Norm here is a dating ultrasound around month 3, anatomy scan around month 5, then maybe growth and positioning at week 9 - in a normal pregnancy.

[kokotg]

Don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that the doppler that they use to hear the heartbeat every visit actually emits more.....of whatever's bad...than ultrasounds do.

[historically accurate]

I had 2 with oldest, about 1 or 2 a week starting at week 11 with 2nd dd, and probably about 10 with my youngest. All pregnancies were high-risk; I had complications with #2 & #3. None have any complications from the ultrasounds.

[LillyMama]

Another vote for "had a ton with my baby and didn't notice any ill effects."

[Lucy in Australia]

Quite a few here, too, and especially with the last one, due to my... ahem, "advance maternal age" :glare: No problems.

 

In restrospect, especially with #1 and #2, I wished I'd worried more about my nutrition & getting enough sun.

[happyhomemaker25]

I was high risk as well. I had an ultrasound every month up til my third trimester, then I had one a week for the whole third trimester. My baby is perfect. It was actually good for me because I had a lot of anxiety with my pregnancy. I heard all the arguments against to many u/s, but it was nice to see baby healthy, happy and kicking. Of course I did not get my first u/s til I was about 17w. Did not know I was pregnant until a couple of weeks before that.

[Dealea86]

My understanding, based on how DH (physics major back in college) explained it to me, is that it should be very safe. The wavelength of ultrasound is similar, IIRC, to radio and TV waves, which we're all surrounded by constantly.

[staceyobu]

I've never heard of any proven side effects to ultrasounds. Lots of people have them biweekly in later pregnancy. I used to work on a high risk pregnancy unit and they scanned women every other day.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I've never heard of any proven side effects to ultrasounds. Lots of people have them biweekly in later pregnancy. I used to work on a high risk pregnancy unit and they scanned women every other day.

 

There isn't much research on the long-term safety of ultrasound radiation. In this country, it would be nearly impossible to have a control group since it is ubiquitous (not just scans, but doppler and fetal monitoring.) In Europe, there have been some studies that show an increase in left-handedness in the ultrasound exposed group vs. the control group. However, no one knows if this means anything. Several studies have shown that babies who receive frequent scans for IUGR tend to be smaller than those who have suspected IUGR, but do not receive multiple scans. Don't know if they end up being smaller because they are more likely to be induced, though.

 

My biggest concern is what they do with the information. If they find evidence of anything abnormal, they feel like they have to do something, even though there is a high rate of false positives - even with the latest technology.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

I have an incompetent cervix (cervix opens VERY prematurely) so in my last two pregnancies I had vaginal and abdominal ultrasounds weekly until 36 weeks. My babies are fine so far. I think there is too much hype over ultraounds being dangerous. I have a friend who believes that it can cause speech problems. Hmmm... my ultrasound exposed babies talked before my other one. So, my thoughts would be to find out what your DD is having before you leae :)

[kitten18]

In Europe, there have been some studies that show an increase in left-handedness in the ultrasound exposed group vs. the control group.

:svengo:

;):D

[Sara in AZ]

Back ten years ago when we were taking our Bradley birth classes (which are pretty extreme) I remember seeing a photo of skin cells that had received ultra sound and those that had not. I remember they looked markedly different from each other. But what does that mean? I don 't know. Nobodie's babies are growing two heads or anything. Like everyone else has said, our ultrasounded babies all turned out fine...although my son, who never had an ultrasound, is pretty bright. Maybe that's the difference!

[Random]

From what I understand, ultrasound isn't recommended by the ACOG because its effects are not well-known, but it's something consumers want.

 

On a funny note, the baby I had a verrrrry long ultrasound with at 32 weeks gestation (didn't have one with the others) is left-handed! :tongue_smilie:

[StaceyinLA]

She isn't having any of the tests done or anything. We are just really impatient. That's why I was kinda feeling badly about it. It'll just be so cool to be with her when she finds out the sex. Otoh, it's not so important to risk danger to the baby.

 

Since the general consensus is that it should be ok, I think we will do it!! Let's hope he/she cooperates! :tongue_smilie:

[kemilie]

another vote for safe! I did a lot of research due to necessity of many ultrasounds in my twin pregnancy.

[chepyl]

My friend who had twins had o.e every month or two weeks. Her twins were induced at 40 weeks and were 7.5&8.5 pounds. I dont know if they are left handed, but they are definately not small and they are intelligent.

 

Both of my kids are fine. I had three with DD.

 

Go find out what she is having!! :)

[Melinda in VT]

Two of my pregnancies had a ton of ultrasounds. (One because of twins and one because of a wrong diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality.)

 

Although two of those kids favor their left hands for some tasks, we also have family history of left-handedness in people born before ultrasounds. The kids don't seem to have had any other ill effects from the ultrasounds.

 

On the other hand, I don't know anyone who went to one of those gender scan places and got an accurate gender.

[Momof3littles]

I had several in each pregnancy, because we had to go through infertility treatment to conceive my DS1, and then because I have irreg. cycles I had dating USs in my subsequent pregnancies, along with the typical 18-22 wk scan.

 

That said the FDA has expressed concern about overuse of ultrasound. We simply don't know 100% what the long term effects are.

 

In terms of the left-handedness study, the concern there is that perhaps it triggers some brain changes that we don't realize.

[kroe1]

There is no evidence that the 3D/4D ultrasounds are safe. The technology is still new.

 

Doppler or pulse ultrasounds are considered unsafe, although there is no hard evidence. Most reputable places will not use this technology on a baby, especially early pregnancies.

 

Other ultrasounds are considered to have no known complications and there are plenty of years of study data.

 

I would never recommend an extra 3D/4D ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. Why risk it just so grandmother can get a squeal?

 

:)

[Dealea86]

There is no evidence that the 3D/4D ultrasounds are safe. The technology is still new.

 

My understanding was that the 3D/4D ultrasounds didn't use any different ultrasound technology, just that the machine processed the waves differently. :confused:

 

I know this is a wikipedia quote, but it says basically the same thing I've read elsewhere (like on my OB's website, but for privacy reasons I'd rather not link that.)

 

"Though generally, the risks of 3D ultrasounds mirror those of 2D ultrasounds, as it uses the same ultrasound waves at the same intensity. Unlike the comparison of CT scans to x-rays, 3D ultrasounds do not employ multiple snapshots of 2D ultrasounds but uses the 2D ultrasound images taken at various angles to construct an image. So the potential risk of 3D ultrasounds would depend on the duration of the ultrasound session rather than whether it is 2D or 3D."

 

ETA: I don't get 3D ultrasounds, but that's because I'm too cheap to pay for them. ;)

[Farrar]

There isn't much research on the long-term safety of ultrasound radiation. In this country, it would be nearly impossible to have a control group since it is ubiquitous (not just scans, but doppler and fetal monitoring.) In Europe, there have been some studies that show an increase in left-handedness in the ultrasound exposed group vs. the control group. However, no one knows if this means anything. Several studies have shown that babies who receive frequent scans for IUGR tend to be smaller than those who have suspected IUGR, but do not receive multiple scans. Don't know if they end up being smaller because they are more likely to be induced, though.

 

My biggest concern is what they do with the information. If they find evidence of anything abnormal, they feel like they have to do something, even though there is a high rate of false positives - even with the latest technology.

 

:iagree:

 

Unless there's a specific, real reason for doing more than one in the course of a pregnancy, I wouldn't.

[The Girls' Mom]

I had a long scan at 8 months with my oldest (part of a study)

 

With the twins I had so many that I lost count. It was every week there towards the end.

 

All mine are fine :)

[Momof3littles]

Many people are reporting anecdotes. As I said, I had multiple USs in pregnancy and my children appear "fine" as well. But as a population we have such high rates of things like ADHD for example. Of course, that is likely multifactoral, obviously, but it is difficult to tease out the effects of US in a population where most women receive at least one, and these days frequently more than one, US.

 

Perhaps we are affecting the brain in less obvious ways. The impact may not necessarily be visible, and of course you are going to have kids who probably don't suffer any ill effects. The problem is we don't necessarily have a great idea of whether all of the US is impacting our kids on a population level.

[happymomofboys]

I worked for my obgyn when I was pregnant with my first child. I was given a free look-see ultrasound every single month of my pregnancy and weekly during the last month. It was offered and encouraged by both my doctor and the ultrasound tech who both assured me it wouldn't harm the baby. He is 10 now and doing just fine.

[garddwr]

Here is a study that makes me cautious regarding ultrasounds and here is an abstract from pubmed of a review of ultrasound studies--their conclusion: "The present knowledge of the potential bioeffects of ultrasound suggests that, when using ultrasound for examinations in pregnancy, fetal scanning without medical indication should be avoided and that adherence to ALARA principle (use of energy "as low as reasonably achievable") is compulsory."

 

While ultrasounds are clearly not producing major malformations (missing limbs etc.) there simply have not been enough studies done to determine what long-term subtle effects (especially neural effects) may result from ultrasound exposure. I think caution is advised. I don't avoid ultrasounds entirely, but view them as a diagnostic tool to be used sparingly. I would not recommend getting a non-medically indicated ultrasound, and would try to keep medically indicated exposure as short as possible.

 

--Sarah

[Dealea86]

Here is a study that makes me cautious regarding ultrasounds and here is an abstract from pubmed of a review of ultrasound studies--their conclusion: "The present knowledge of the potential bioeffects of ultrasound suggests that, when using ultrasound for examinations in pregnancy, fetal scanning without medical indication should be avoided and that adherence to ALARA principle (use of energy "as low as reasonably achievable") is compulsory."

 

While ultrasounds are clearly not producing major malformations (missing limbs etc.) there simply have not been enough studies done to determine what long-term subtle effects (especially neural effects) may result from ultrasound exposure. I think caution is advised. I don't avoid ultrasounds entirely, but view them as a diagnostic tool to be used sparingly. I would not recommend getting a non-medically indicated ultrasound, and would try to keep medically indicated exposure as short as possible.

 

--Sarah

 

I agree with this. Ultrasound is probably reasonably safe in small doses (like I said earlier, it's similar in wavelength to radio waves), but 'save in small doses' doesn't necessarily translate to 'perfectly safe'. I, personally, get all the ultrasounds my doctor recommends.

[KirstenH]

The left-handedness thing is interesting. I have two kids. Both had tons of ultrasounds done (the first because he wouldn't cooperate with the scans and I did NOT want to be surprised by the sex, so we kept doing 3D ones until we found out ... the second because he was high risk and needed weekly scans to monitor his condition). Oldest is left handed, youngest is right handed. I'm left handed. I have no idea how many scans were done on me. At least one, because I've seen the printout.

Edited June 12, 2012 by KirstenH

[catz]

Many people are reporting anecdotes. As I said, I had multiple USs in pregnancy and my children appear "fine" as well. But as a population we have such high rates of things like ADHD for example. Of course, that is likely multifactoral, obviously, but it is difficult to tease out the effects of US in a population where most women receive at least one, and these days frequently more than one, US.

 

Perhaps we are affecting the brain in less obvious ways. The impact may not necessarily be visible, and of course you are going to have kids who probably don't suffer any ill effects. The problem is we don't necessarily have a great idea of whether all of the US is impacting our kids on a population level.

 

:iagree: I had a very high risk pregnancy with my first and had many ultrasounds. My kid seems great. With my 2nd, I had 2 ultrasounds. One for early bleeding and then the 20 week scan. I personally wouldn't choose to have more than a doctor ordered.

[Hwin]

I would not get an extra scan to check gender if I was getting one in a doctor's office at 20 weeks, but I don't see the harm in an extra five minutes :)

[Laura Corin]

I had quite a few with Calvin as he had a suspected deformity (turned out to be a false alarm). I don't see it as a big problem.

 

Laura

[Heather in AL]

Another vote for "had a ton with my baby and didn't notice any ill effects."

 

:iagree: (but substitute "babies" for "baby").

 

In Europe, there have been some studies that show an increase in left-handedness in the ultrasound exposed group vs. the control group.

 

How interesting!! I had multiple ultrasounds with both pregnancies, but many more with my first. He is a lefty.

[momtoamiracle]

Had 10 u/s with my son, four of them being 3D, plus I used a doppler daily for many weeks (having had two ectopics and miscarriage before him we wanted to make sure he was ok quite frequently, plus I was 39 yo and had gestational diabetes). My son is now almost 6 years old - no effects at all.

 

 

 

I had read about the lefthandedness thing but my son is righthanded. Even if he would have been left handed it wouldn't have set any alarms off with me - my grandmother, mother, and niece are left handed, as is dh's oldest sister. None of them had ultrasounds performed while they were inutero.

[Momof3littles]

Had 10 u/s with my son, four of them being 3D, plus I used a doppler daily for many weeks (having had two ectopics and miscarriage before him we wanted to make sure he was ok quite frequently, plus I was 39 yo and had gestational diabetes). My son is now almost 6 years old - no effects at all.

 

 

 

I had read about the lefthandedness thing but my son is righthanded. Even if he would have been left handed it wouldn't have set any alarms off with me - my grandmother, mother, and niece are left handed, as is dh's oldest sister. None of them had ultrasounds performed while they were inutero.

The study isn't saying all left handedness comes from US. I didn't reread the study but read it years ago. I think the gist was that they ended up with more left handed individuals than would be expected through genetics.

[JeneralMom]

I thought they wouldn't do those 3d/4d scans until after a basic one had been done at the drs? Has that changed? I remember a friend wanted to get one done in 2007 or 2008 and said she couldn't until after her 20 week scan.

 

I do not like ultrasounds so with DS8 i had one, with DD5 I had 2 (the didn't see all her heart valves in scan 1), and 2 with DD3 because she was breech. DS7 was a twin and after i lost his twin they discovered a placenta previa so had to get that checked, then later had some more, probably 5 or 6 in all. I found them bothersome and intrusive.

[Dealea86]

BTW, DH wanted me to correct what I wrote earlier. Yes, the wavelengths of radio waves and ultrasound waves are very similar, but "radio is EM which means it can propagate in a vacuum. Ultrasound is sound and thus requires a medium in which to transmit energy via changes in pressure."

 

I have no idea what sort of difference that makes, but there you go. ;)

[prairiewindmomma]

Each of my kids has had multiple u/s. None are lefties.

 

Because I am high risk in my pregnancies, I get monthly ultrasounds during the first and second trimesters and weekly ones (as part of the biophysical profile) during the third trimester.....so with this pregnancy I'll get 16 ultrasounds provided I go to term...

 

Here's a link to a study where they did a meta-analysis of a large number of studies that are out there on the safety of ultrasonography in pregnancy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19291813 The summary of that study is here:

"The electronic search identified 6716 citations, and 19 were identified from secondary sources. A total of 61 publications reporting data from 41 different studies were included: 16 controlled trials, 13 cohort and 12 case-control studies. Ultrasonography in pregnancy was not associated with adverse maternal or perinatal outcome, impaired physical or neurological development, increased risk for malignancy in childhood, subnormal intellectual performance or mental diseases. According to the available clinical trials, there was a weak association between exposure to ultrasonography and non-right handedness in boys (odds ratio 1.26; 95% CI, 1.03-1.54)."

[ocelotmom]

Don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that the doppler that they use to hear the heartbeat every visit actually emits more.....of whatever's bad...than ultrasounds do.

 

This is my understanding, as well.

 

I don't allow the doppler at every visit. After running across someone whose baby's high heart rate was being controlled by maternal oral medication, I've changed my mind on their possible benefit. But I do make them at least try the fetoscope first if I'm far enough along for that to be realistic. Luckily, I use midwives who are happy to accommodate me on that :)

 

I do allow reasonable doppler during labor, when it has more potential immediate impact and is more time-sensitive.

[Guest]

Great timing on this thread! I have had several sonograms during this pregnancy and I was getting worried. I had three that were about 5-10 minutes in length and a quick one minute sonogram to find the heartbeat (early on). I have to have one more to recheck cervical length as I had to go to the hospital and get a shot for contractions. I was contemplating not having it done. In previous pregnancies, the most I had was three. None of my kids are left-handed so far.

[SunnyDays]

I had four ultrasounds with my son. The first two at 6 and 7 weeks, because I was bleeding and they wanted to check fetal growth. A "standard" one to check growth and gender at about 18 weeks. And another one in my 6th month, because I was in a minor car accident and we wanted to make sure baby was okay.

 

He was born very healthy, and is left handed. Although I had some left handed tendencies as a child as well and I'm not sure if my mom *ever* had an ultrasound, so who knows??

 

If you do find out about the little one, let us know!! :)

[PinkInTheBlue]

I also had a ton of ultrasounds with absolutely no problems. They were all with the new 3D machines.

[happyhomemaker25]

Had 10 u/s with my son, four of them being 3D, plus I used a doppler daily for many weeks (having had two ectopics and miscarriage before him we wanted to make sure he was ok quite frequently, plus I was 39 yo and had gestational diabetes). My son is now almost 6 years old - no effects at all.

 

 

 

I had read about the lefthandedness thing but my son is righthanded. Even if he would have been left handed it wouldn't have set any alarms off with me - my grandmother, mother, and niece are left handed, as is dh's oldest sister. None of them had ultrasounds performed while they were inutero.

 

LOL, I wouldn't worry about being left handed. My oldest son is left handed and is the first student I've had that did not make me feel like a complete failure as a homeschooling mom! :tongue_smilie: He's brilliant and even at 9 I can see him headed towards a STEM degree. I was just excited that I after 4 tries I had a student who finally "got it" on the first try. :D

[dirty ethel rackham]

The issue with the left-handedness study was not the left-handedness, but the fact that there were unexpected neurological results. Their conclusion was that more study needed to be done to determine if there were other subtle neurological impacts from ultrasound. To my knowledge, there haven't been further studies into this issue.

 

Medical societies do caution against using ultrasound unless there is a medical indication, mostly because it really hasn't been well-studied (like most of obstetric practices). Learning the baby's sex is not considered a medical indication.

[Joker]

I had them weekly, sometimes daily, for the last half of my pregnancy with my oldest. She's not a lefty, and has no problems.

[Momof3littles]

The issue with the left-handedness study was not the left-handedness, but the fact that there were unexpected neurological results. Their conclusion was that more study needed to be done to determine if there were other subtle neurological impacts from ultrasound. To my knowledge, there haven't been further studies into this issue.

 

Medical societies do caution against using ultrasound unless there is a medical indication, mostly because it really hasn't been well-studied (like most of obstetric practices). Learning the baby's sex is not considered a medical indication.

:iagree:

When I had USs in my 2nd and 3rd pregnancy, the university medical center actually had something hanging up in the room where they did all USs at the Women's Hospital about being prudent with their use, etc.