I teach in my Bradley class about the risks of ultrasound. This is so controversial to begin with. No one wants to believe that there could be complications or problems with using this device that American parents are so in love with!
Simply put, ultrasound changes the way cells grow. Ultrasound has been linked to a number of things, but the one I want to focus on here is autism.
One in every 150 kids has a form of autism in the United States. This rate has grown tremendously over the last decade. Now let's talk about ultrasound for a moment. When I had my first baby, in 1996, nearly 13 years ago, I remember desperately hoping that my insurance would cover it. Back then, they didn't do them unless there was a "medical reason." (I don't remember my "medical reason".) Gradually, the reasons started including things such as accuracy of the estimated due date. Now, everyone's insurance covers ultrasound, usually not just one, but several. I even had a student last year who had a doctor who routinely did ultrasounds every week starting at 36 weeks. Parents are excited about this, not knowing the risks they are taking with their baby's well-being. Rates of increased ultrasound usage correlate with the rate of autism diagnosis. They have both risen dramatically, simultaneously.
I had read about the possible link between ultrasound and autism about 5 or 6 years ago. It made so much sense to me. There has always been warnings linked to ultrasound, but I rarely talk with a pregnant woman who has been made aware of any warnings before having an ultrasound.
For example, a study in 1993 found that babies exposed to ultrasound were twice as likely to develop delayed speech. According to the FDA, "While ultrasound has been around for many years, expectant women and their families need to know that the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposures on the fetus are not fully known."
Researchers reported, in 2005, "Obstetric ultrasound should only be done for medical reasons, and exposure should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) because of the potential for tissue heating. Temperature increases in utero have been shown to cause damage to the developing central nervous system of the fetus." In 2006, a study warned that exposure to ultrasound can affect fetal brain development.
Because there are no obvious deformities or problems at birth, we assume that all is well and "normal." It is likely several months or even years later, as the parents are going through testing, no one asks -- yet -- "How many ultrasounds did you have in your pregnancy?" I think that day will come though. As a side note -- what did you learn from all those ultrasounds? Probably that everything was just fine. Even if you were checking for something periodically, what would the difference have been in just waiting until the baby was born? Rarely can anything be done in utero. So why have all these ultrasounds to begin with?
Ultrasound, just like ANY drug in labor or pregnancy, has NOT been proven to be safe. Think about that for a minute. Take Tylenol for example. Women are told that it is "safe" to take it, but that is not necessarily true. It just hasn't been proven to be unsafe. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, has been proven to be unsafe. We know ultrasound changes cellular growth, we just aren't sure exactly what this means long-term. Links are starting to be made now, finally, after 30 years of use -- and damage.
Other research shows that populations exposed to ultrasound have a quadrupled perinatal death rate, increased rates of brain damage, nerve cell demlyienation, dyslexia, speech delays, epilepsy, and learning difficulties.
One more interesting note about ultrasound and the development of the baby. Ultrasounds, along with many obstetrical testing practices, has a high false-positive rate, meaning that parents are told something is, or may be, wrong with the baby. This causes the production of stress hormones in the mother which can have long-term effects on the baby's neurological development and behavior.
It is important to know that ultrasound is not just the scan where you see the pictures of the baby. Ultrasound includes the doptone used to hear the baby's heartbeat at your appointments with your doctor or midwife. (You can hear the baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope after about 20 weeks. This takes more skill, and if your provider is younger, they probably have no idea how to find the heartbeat of the baby without the doptone. If this at all concerns you, you should request to hear the heartbeat by stethoscope.) Another form, and perhaps the worst of them all, the Electronic Fetal Monitor, or EFM. This is often strapped to the mom for hours in labor, especially if she has drugs in her system. Once again, I have just given you another reason to not have drugs in labor. You'll still be monitored, but only a fraction of the time will be required, or needed.
I have to end this post with a simple, trust your body. Trust your baby. You will be seeing him or her in a short time. The risk of ultrasound simply is not worth it. If your doctor or midwife is pushing you to have more than one ultrasound (I understand wanting one to check things out), examine the reasons and the possible results. Can anything really be done during the pregnancy? Usually not.
For those of you who are curious, I pulled this information from a magazine called "Pathways to Family Wellness". Other obstetrical procedures linked to autism include: mercury in pregnancy, including the Rhogam shot, flu shot, dental fillings, and fish. Other procedures linked to autism: induction, epidurals, restricted laboring positions, forceps and vacuum extraction, C-sections, and umbilical cord clamping. Of all these things, ultrasound was at the top of the list.
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Simply put, ultrasound changes the way cells grow. Ultrasound has been linked to a number of things, but the one I want to focus on here is autism.
One in every 150 kids has a form of autism in the United States. This rate has grown tremendously over the last decade. Now let's talk about ultrasound for a moment. When I had my first baby, in 1996, nearly 13 years ago, I remember desperately hoping that my insurance would cover it. Back then, they didn't do them unless there was a "medical reason." (I don't remember my "medical reason".) Gradually, the reasons started including things such as accuracy of the estimated due date. Now, everyone's insurance covers ultrasound, usually not just one, but several. I even had a student last year who had a doctor who routinely did ultrasounds every week starting at 36 weeks. Parents are excited about this, not knowing the risks they are taking with their baby's well-being. Rates of increased ultrasound usage correlate with the rate of autism diagnosis. They have both risen dramatically, simultaneously.
I had read about the possible link between ultrasound and autism about 5 or 6 years ago. It made so much sense to me. There has always been warnings linked to ultrasound, but I rarely talk with a pregnant woman who has been made aware of any warnings before having an ultrasound.
For example, a study in 1993 found that babies exposed to ultrasound were twice as likely to develop delayed speech. According to the FDA, "While ultrasound has been around for many years, expectant women and their families need to know that the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposures on the fetus are not fully known."
Researchers reported, in 2005, "Obstetric ultrasound should only be done for medical reasons, and exposure should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) because of the potential for tissue heating. Temperature increases in utero have been shown to cause damage to the developing central nervous system of the fetus." In 2006, a study warned that exposure to ultrasound can affect fetal brain development.
Because there are no obvious deformities or problems at birth, we assume that all is well and "normal." It is likely several months or even years later, as the parents are going through testing, no one asks -- yet -- "How many ultrasounds did you have in your pregnancy?" I think that day will come though. As a side note -- what did you learn from all those ultrasounds? Probably that everything was just fine. Even if you were checking for something periodically, what would the difference have been in just waiting until the baby was born? Rarely can anything be done in utero. So why have all these ultrasounds to begin with?
Ultrasound, just like ANY drug in labor or pregnancy, has NOT been proven to be safe. Think about that for a minute. Take Tylenol for example. Women are told that it is "safe" to take it, but that is not necessarily true. It just hasn't been proven to be unsafe. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, has been proven to be unsafe. We know ultrasound changes cellular growth, we just aren't sure exactly what this means long-term. Links are starting to be made now, finally, after 30 years of use -- and damage.
Other research shows that populations exposed to ultrasound have a quadrupled perinatal death rate, increased rates of brain damage, nerve cell demlyienation, dyslexia, speech delays, epilepsy, and learning difficulties.
One more interesting note about ultrasound and the development of the baby. Ultrasounds, along with many obstetrical testing practices, has a high false-positive rate, meaning that parents are told something is, or may be, wrong with the baby. This causes the production of stress hormones in the mother which can have long-term effects on the baby's neurological development and behavior.
It is important to know that ultrasound is not just the scan where you see the pictures of the baby. Ultrasound includes the doptone used to hear the baby's heartbeat at your appointments with your doctor or midwife. (You can hear the baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope after about 20 weeks. This takes more skill, and if your provider is younger, they probably have no idea how to find the heartbeat of the baby without the doptone. If this at all concerns you, you should request to hear the heartbeat by stethoscope.) Another form, and perhaps the worst of them all, the Electronic Fetal Monitor, or EFM. This is often strapped to the mom for hours in labor, especially if she has drugs in her system. Once again, I have just given you another reason to not have drugs in labor. You'll still be monitored, but only a fraction of the time will be required, or needed.
I have to end this post with a simple, trust your body. Trust your baby. You will be seeing him or her in a short time. The risk of ultrasound simply is not worth it. If your doctor or midwife is pushing you to have more than one ultrasound (I understand wanting one to check things out), examine the reasons and the possible results. Can anything really be done during the pregnancy? Usually not.
For those of you who are curious, I pulled this information from a magazine called "Pathways to Family Wellness". Other obstetrical procedures linked to autism include: mercury in pregnancy, including the Rhogam shot, flu shot, dental fillings, and fish. Other procedures linked to autism: induction, epidurals, restricted laboring positions, forceps and vacuum extraction, C-sections, and umbilical cord clamping. Of all these things, ultrasound was at the top of the list.
