Is Ultrasound Scanning During Pregnancy Worth the Risks?
Posted By Dr. Ben Kim on Dec 20, 2004
While ultrasound scanning doesn't pose the same dangers to human and fetal health as ionizing radiation, it is a mistake to think that ultrasound is entirely safe for a baby growing in your womb.
Ultrasound scanning works by sending sound waves into your tissues. As these sound waves bounce off of your tissues, a picture is created.
These sound waves are capable of producing the following physiological effects:
- Increase in blood flow and temperature in local tissues
- Production of gas bubbles that can put pressure on local tissues
- Mechanical effects like movement of the fluid that surrounds your cells, which can also put pressure on local tissues
The conventional view on ultrasound scanning during pregnancy is that the intensity and duration of sound waves that are used for scanning are not enough to produce these physiological effects at a level that is harmful to a fetus.
I believe that this conventional view is influenced by the number of dollars that are being made by this industry.
Before you allow ultrasound scanning to be performed during pregnancy, please consider the following points:
- Ultrasound scanning of pregnant women has been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of miscarriage, preterm labour, and even infant mortality.
- Pregnant physiotherapists who provided ultrasound treatments for more than 20 hours per week were found to have an increased risk for spontaneous abortions.
- One of the reasons used to support ultrasound scanning for pregnant women is that it can help to diagnose a condition called placental praevia. This is a condition where the placenta is implanted in the lower part of a woman's uterus, which can cause bleeding in the third trimester and increase her chance of being encouraged to have a caesarean section. A study of 4000 women found that of 250 women who were scanned and diagnosed with placental praevia, only 4 actually had placental praevia upon delivery. Who knows how many unnecessary caesareans have been done and how much needless anxiety women have experienced due to incorrect diagnoses of placental praevia wiith ultrasound?
- Using ultrasound scanning to detect serious problems before birth does not necessarily save lives or reduce illness. There is evidence to suggest that using ultrasound to attempt to detect problems while a baby is in the womb can do more harm than good.
- There is evidence to support that children who have been exposed to ultrasound while in their mothers' bellies have a greater chance of suffering from dyslexia and other speech and learning problems than children who have not been exposed to ultrasound.
Ultimately, the two main reasons why I believe that it is best to avoid ultrasound scanning during pregnancy are:
- No matter what intensity and duration of ultrasound waves are used, there is always a possibility of these waves creating unnecessary thermal and physical pressure to a growing baby. Why take this risk?
- There is always a possibility of practitioner error and/or a defective machine that can result in a higher than intended dose of ultrasonic waves to your baby.
For more information on why you should think twice before having ultrasound scanning done while pregnant, please read: Ultrasound? Unsound, by Beverley Beech. Copies are available from AIMS.
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Dr. Ben Kim Says:
Ultrasound: harmful or helpful?
Thank you for your article on the concerns regarding ultrasound. It is hard to find anyone who questions the use of this device for pregnancy. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant with my fourth child and have not had an ultrasound in over 4 years! Unless my health throws into question the health of the baby I have no intentions of ever having another pregnancy ultrasound. My first experience with ultrasound was to detect gestational age of my first son at approximately 6 weeks pregnant. The next routine ultrasound done discovered that my cervix is shorter than average, about half as long as most womens. I went to a specialist and had more ultrasounds. It was recommended to me and my husband that we abort the baby to prevent premature birth, death of the baby or life long health problems. We were appalled at the suggestion! And more over confused about their reasoning. They were concerned that my cervix would not hold the weight of the growing fetus. If we had gone through with their suggestion it could have damaged my already short cervix and prevented me from ever experiencing a full term pregnancy. As it turns out my son was born 2 weeks early at 7lbs 12oz totally healthy! He will be turning 5 this year! He is really smart and funny unfortunately though he is showing signs of dyslexia, however minor they may be I can't help but wonder if all those scans affected his mental development. Not to mention my original questioning of the procedure. I decided not to have ultrasounds with my following pregnancies because of the reaction of the fetus. I always found it odd that a harmless procedure would cause the fetus to 'run' from it. The fetus always acted fearful, the heart rate would go up and the fetus would move away from the wand. For us that was enough for me to never have another scan done. Fear alone can cause health problems and I didn't want to see my baby in fear for my entertainment. I am now wondering if I should be concerned about the routine use of dopplers?
agree but with personal experience exception
I am quite in agreement with the thoughts in this article on a theoretical level.
But I want to share my personal experience which is an exception (perhaps rare).
My first pregnancy was discovered to be a twin pregnancy--discovered by ultrasound at 9 weeks. At my 18 week screening ultrasound, we were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome which needed almost immediate (later that week)laser surgery. One boy was getting to much blood and could have gone into heart failure, and the other one was literally "shrink-wrapped" in his sack. His bladder was also not visible (from lack of nutrition/fluid). Overnight, even I as an un-trained ultrasound reader, could see the very obvious difference after the surgery. The smaller twin finally had fluid in his sack and could move and had a visible bladder....and the other boy's fluid amounts reduced to normal.
These screening ultrasounds saved my boys' lives...At very least IF either one had survived without this immediate treatment, they would have likely been handicapped (based on what often happens in this condition). They are both now healthy, intelligent wonderful boys, and I couldn't imagine life without them.
I don't honestly know if there may have been some negative effects from the ultrasounds they had...it's hard to say. But it did save their lives. I don't think the twin pregnancy and their perilous condition would have been discovered in time otherwise.
I don't like to be a nay-sayer, because I so agree with this article...but because of my personal experience with a real situation, I want to say it's not always so simple. People should certainly be willing to have an ultrasound if they have a sense of needing to do that. I know the chances are pretty low...but for us, it was my boys' lives....
Thank you so much for standing for unpopular views, Dr. Kim. I hope I don't sound like I'm opposing you...I so appreciate all your work! I just felt compelled to share...
Yes, there are exceptions if you are "high risk"
I do agree that there may be exceptions if you are high risk, like if you are having twins or multiples, but if you are having a relatively normal pregnancy, I don't think it's necessary to have so many ultrasounds. I do think it disturbs what is happening there organically, and there haven't been enough tests/studies done to prove that sound waves are indeed not harmful on babies. There have even been some studies showing that more ultrasounds caused male babies to be born left-handed as opposed to right-handed. I do think that so many ultrasounds are unnecessary and I think maybe 2 max would be beneficial. One to date the pregnancy and the second one when you are 20 weeks or so to find out the gender and look at the anatomy. I heard of some women getting 6-7 ultrasounds throughout their pregnancy!