Anxiety & Concerns over Ultrasound safety

[frazzledtofun]

Hello,

I'm currently 11 weeks with DC2. I had about 6 or 7 scans (for various reasons) with DC1 and she is fine but I recently came across a few articles that question the safety of ultrasound scans for foetuses.

See here one of the articles I have read (sarahbuckley.com/ultrasound-scans-cause-for-concern).

I'm a very risk-averse person and tend towards anxiety. Pregnancy is quite stressful for me as I hate the uncertainty and constantly worry about something going wrong. As a result I have already had 2 scans in this pregnancy - one to confirm the viability of the pregnancy and the second because they found what they thought was a cyst and they wanted to check if it was OK.

I was looking forward to my 12 week scan next week as an opportunity to check that the baby is growing normally etc. but now I feel really torn. Am I being really selfish and potentially putting my baby in harms way just so that I can feel reassurance? Does it really help the baby to have ultrasound?

I was particularly concerned to read that ultrasound has been associated with irreparable cell death and, particularly, loss of myelin in brain cells (myelin is a fatty substance that coats the ends of brain and nerve cells and allows them to transfer information).

Now, I know that pretty much everyone nowadays has an ultrasound and that conventional medicine feels that it is safe enough for any benefits to outweigh the risks but part of me is really worried that in say 10, 20 years time we are going to be looking back on the mass scanning of foetuses and wonder what on earth we were doing. What if I am going to put my child at risk?

Sorry for waffling on. Basically I am looking for some reassurance and / or anyone feeling the same way.

If there were a series of studies published in high calibre medical journals questioning the safety of antenatal ultrasound scans, I think we'd need to worry. A blogger? Not so much.

Honestly you are being over anxious. The 12 and 20 week scans are to pick up any medical issues with the baby. Chances are your baby is absolutely fine but if there was an issue medical staff can identify it and put a plan in place to ensure your baby is as healthy as possible during pregnancy and after birth. Therefore the scans are extremely beneficial and you are not being selfish at all.

Pregnancy is a very difficult time, particularly for the over anxious (I include myself in that!!) so you must try to relax and enjoy it. Google cute baby pics and nursery decor and not medical stuff because there's so much crap on the internet.

Congratulations, enjoy your scan and enjoy looking at the scan picture and showing it off

Her paper wasn't peer reviewed or published in an established journal, for a start. It's scaremongering. The risks of NOT having a scan far outweigh the perceived risk of ultrasound, which is debatable anyway.
FWIW I had a Transvaginal ultrasound 3 times a week for the first 12 weeks and then abdominal intra sound every two weeks till delivery. (Placental issues and twins.) The outcomes of that pregnancy have just thrown their breakfast on the floor!
Seriously don't worry, and maybe think of ways to tackle your anxiety. X

Just to echo what seaoflove said and what I said above - don't look at the hoards of crap on the internet. It's not qualified information, it's a load of shit!

The only reason that there are only two standard scans on the NHS is cost, not safety by the way. Privately you get loads of you want.

Thanks guys! You have made me feel better!

I seem to find something new to fret over every week at the moment. I can barely think about the pregnancy without doom-mongering and worrying.

The article does quote some studies (albeit a few in mice) but i guess I just feel like if there's any risk at all, is it justified?!

I think I will go for the scan but will ask them to be as quick as possible and to use the lowest possible power on the scanner. Not sure if that really makes sense but it might make me feel better.

I do want to tackle the general anxiety too. It's hard when you're also feeling so sick and exhausted. I AM happy to be pregnant. But the next 29 weeks can't go quickly enough!!

The article is really badly written and heavily biased. I wouldn't give any credence to mouse studies, because if they showed any evidence pointing to risks in humans, there would be human studies as well.

From looking at Sarah Buckley's site, although she's a qualified GP, it doesn't mention that she's a practising GP, and she certainly isn't an obstetrician or a radiologist. Her site has a big pro-homebirth, pro-"natural" agenda too, so she's obviously going to be against conventional obstetrics.

What you have to weigh up is this:

A very teeny tiny potential pretty unproven risk of scans in humans versus the risks of not picking up a problem with a scan.

The reason they do scans is precisely to reduce risks overall. Antenatal care is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy baby in the end. The whole point of scans is if there is something wrong, you can make decisions, be prepared and have the right care your baby might need at the earliest opportunity possible.

I suffer from anxiety and found that the antenatal tests were very counterproductive in terms of increasing my anxiety at times and didn't always offer me reassurance as I got myself so worked up over them before I had them. The problem was they drew attention to the worse case scenarios which had me worrying.

The thing is with anxiety is its emotion over logic. So take a step back and consider why they recommend scans having considered the alternative (which includes whether its financially worthwhile to do those scans).

If you are a risk adverse person, you have to frame things correctly. Unfortunately the way risk is often talked about is poor and it does make it look much more inflated than it actually is.

I'd recommend a couple of books for you to put things into context if you are really struggling with your anxiety and health related things.

Ben Goldacre's Bad Pharma and Margaret McCartney's The Patient Paradox: Why Sexed Up Medicine is Bad for Your Health which both look at how risk is being sold to us in healthcare and should help you look at that study with a little more scepticism and help you make informed decisions for yourself.

Also The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Programme to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence and Happiness which is a book on mindfulness which looks at why people get anxious and how its a battle between your emotions and logic. There are similar books out there, but this one is the one I've read and is on the bestselling lists so has a pretty good rating.

Good luck. I hope you can find a bit of peace of mind and enjoy your pregnancy (if that's possible when feeling like a bloated balloon!)

Thank you!!

Red I am exactly the same - I focus on the worst possible scenario and I think testing does make that worse sometimes! Thank you for the book recommendations! I have read Bad Pharma and a bit of the chimp paradox but I think I will revisit it.

Sea thank you. You are right. I do generally try to be natural and organic (and am actually planning a home birth) so I guess I agree with some of at his kind of view point but I have an issue when I can't see the wood for the trees when it comes to claims about safety like this!

I agree with all the comments about balance of risk but I had my doubts also. One suggestion if you still feel concerned but want the first tri and anomaly scan; you could ask for a senior sonographer (they may be somewhat quicker than someone inexperienced) and request scanning is kept to minimum.

A home birth is way more risky than an USS!

What Hughfearnley said!

Maybe read Expecting Better?
It is written by an academic, and looks at the actual statistics behind everything from tests to eating cheese, and breaks it down into very clear and easy to understand chunks, with relatable examples