3D/4D scans...Why do people say they're harmful?

[Merrydoula]

Hospitals don't provide them, only private clinics do so in terms of safety, I've read that they require extra waves etc which could be harmful for the baby??

There's no evidence to suggest they're harmful, but why would an NHS hospital offer them or pay for the kit? They don't offer anything diagnostically so they're just for entertainment, so to speak.

They aren't at all harmful. It's exactly the same as an ultrasound. It doesn't matter how many ultrasound waves there are, these type of wave are not harmful to the baby (or the mother). The only reason the hospitals don't provide them is because they are expensive, there are no safety risks at all.

Nhs issues a warning over this

www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/warning-over-souvenir-baby-scans/

That seems to have been written in 2010 and talks about "unknown risks". Given how many children will now have had these, and no specific risks have been identified, its unlikely that these are causing significant harm.

They aren’t remotely harmful but the NHS don’t have the funding for what is really quite superficial equipment. NHS scans are purely medical, I know people tend to forget that amongst the joy of seeing their baby or finding out the sex but that is what their purpose is. 3D/4D scans are a bit of fun really.

As PP says this is quite outdated information. We don't follow information from 2010 in any other aspect of our pregnancies! All the reputable recent sources I can find state that there are no greater risks from 3D/4D scans than from 2D ultrasound.