Concerns over how safe are ultrasounds scans and dopplers?

[sue10]

Hi ladies,
im just wondering if you can help me, i have been researching the use of the above and have found conflicting arugments for and against!!! After many mc's and early scan etc i am just wondering if you use dopplers etc and have all the scans offered to you? Also some are against the 4D scans as they say the pitch is extremely high and studies have not been caried out to show the effects as yet. I guess they wouldn't be allowed to be used if they were dangerous but just wondered what others thought?
Thanks and goodluck with your pregnancies
XXX.

During my last pregnancy i had scans every weekr and i had a doppler which i used every day..

For me scans and my doppler were the only thing keeping me from completly losing the plot after several miscarriages and about a million complications but thats not the same for everyone.

I also tend to think that if they were not safe then they wouldnt be allowed to do them, it'd be deeply unethical to use something on pregnant women which wasnt thought to be safe.. if they had even the slightest inkling that they caused probalem they would have to research it more, women have been having scans for the last 30 or more years so i told myself that any problem would have arisen by now.

good luck

During my last pregnancy i had scans every weekr and i had a doppler which i used every day..

For me scans and my doppler were the only thing keeping me from completly losing the plot after several miscarriages and about a million complications but thats not the same for everyone.

I also tend to think that if they were not safe then they wouldnt be allowed to do them, it'd be deeply unethical to use something on pregnant women which wasnt thought to be safe.. if they had even the slightest inkling that they caused probalem they would have to research it more, women have been having scans for the last 30 or more years so i told myself that any problem would have arisen by now.

good luck

ooops sorry

I agree with Worzsel (hope DS is coming along ell Worzsel) - without scans, dd would not have had her issues picked up and they wouldn't have been able to time her exit such that it would be the best for her/ save her life.

As a consequence, I have had lots of scans in this pregnancy - including 2 early ones which I paid for to get me through the first trimester following a previous m/c.

I guess, if you have a straightforward pregnancy then the arguments for using them are less potent, but then you only have 2 if you have a straight forward pregnancy (1 in some places).

'..along well...' even

He's doing very ell thanks

sorry - that was to worzsel...

I would never have a scan just for the sake of it, I would start to question if it is worth the risk. However, I am currently getting a lot of scans because the baby might need to come out early to save his/her life, so I think its worth the risk when I consider the benefits. However, the scans only take a few minutes, not the 30 mins mentioned above.

I think that you can scare yourself half to death on google over anything. In general I thoroughly believe that the benefits outweigh the risks (for example, finding out if you have a low lying placenta, which could kill you)

Personally I wouldn't have one for the sake of it, but that's more because I don't particularly like hospitals.

I'd be far more worried about chemicals in our environment, pesticides in food other pollutants which have all been shown to cross the placenta, even stuff like keeping your mobile in your trouser pocket when pregnant..

I had loads of scans, once a week if not more for baby issues from about 29 wks and once a week because I took part in a research study for foetal development. We used to joke he was the most photographed baby ever and he's fine. Wouldn't have been fine without the scans.

Wheelybug - how is your dd? You were the first person to post to me when I found out ds had IUGR - must be two years or so now.

Aw Trixie - how nice you remember.

DD is absolutely fine. She turned 4 last week and although is still small that's probably because I'm 5 ft and DH is 5 ft 6 and skinny. SHe's around about the 15th centile though which is pretty good considering she was born on the

Unfortunately I think the argument that they wouldn't be allowed to use it if there was any hint of a risk isn't necessarily true - looking back through history there are plenty of examples where drugs or procedures have been withdrawn when proved to do harm after a substantial period of use (the 2 that are perhaps most relevant are Thalidomide, which was in use for 10 years, and prenatal X-Rays, which were standard practice for nearly 50 years before a link with childhood cancers was confirmed).

A lot of the research into the safety of prenatal US was done 10 or more years ago, when machines were a lot less powerful. There were no proven risks to come out then (although a number of questions were raised and not answered) - but I don't feel you can say that it is proven there are no risks, as the research to demonstrate that just hasn't been done that I can find.

For high risk pregnancies there's pretty universal agreement that US is an important diagnostic tool. But there are a lot more question marks over its use in pregnancies where there are no concerns. Even for conditions such as placenta praevia and IUGR there are some studies that suggest early diagnosis with US doesn't change outcomes - and if there's no tangible benefit then why incur a potential risk?

That said, DD had 4 US scans (13 week, 20 week + 2 positioning) plus all the heartbeat stuff at most appointments. I didn't think to question it. Now I've done more reading I might take a different view with any future DC.

Sorry wheelybug never got chance to reply as dh was taken into hospital on saturday.

Fantastic news about dc2 and dd. That's my big worry that it would happen again but would desperately love another now. They just grow up too quick.

Ds is good. Now 50th centile weight but still only 9th for height. A little titch and me and dh are quite tall! He was born under 0.4th too so all good considering. A few little hiccups with development being a bit slower but getting there.

Good luck on impending birth

Hope DH is ok Trixie. Glad DS is ok now though ! Try not to worry about having another - but if you do, see a consultant early and discuss taking low dose aspirin. It was recommended to me as something which might help and doesn't harm. Obviously, its impossible to know whether that has kept the IUGR away or if it wouldn't have happened anyway.

Tangle - in the example of IUGR, I struggle to see why there isn't a benefit. The key to less problems as a result of IUGR (inc. death of the baby) is timing the exit. Obviously it is better for the baby to stay inside whilst things are working but to get the baby out as soon as growth stops. There is no other way to check this surely ? I measured spot on for dates externally (FH measurement) so without a very careful sonographer who spotted the problem who knows what would have happened.

I for one am v. grateful for ultrasound (says she going for 7th scan next week...).

Many thanks ladies for all your messages/replies, it is a difficult one isn't it. After reading the articles and googling the net it has made me really look at the need for US and the safetyness of there use, still not totally clear as to whether they do increase certain risks, although they can be life saving aswell, ohhh the decisions we have to make lol!!!
Goodluck everyone and hope you have happy pregnancies
Best wishes and thanks again
XXX.

I too have read that there is some evidence that ultrasound is not great for babies...not sure about dopplers but as they work on a similar priciple I guess that would be included...

So I would not have scans unless needed, wanted the 12 week standard one to help with dating and for reassurance, and then the only one I would have had would have been at 20wks for the anomaly scan, which again I would want for reassurance since it's offered.

However I have had pre-eclampsia in both my pregnancies and with my second I had scans every 2 weeks from 22 weeks, and probably an additional 5 in the last 2 weeks. DD is now 19 months and is developmentally normal and actually slightly advanced... Obviously this is all anecdotal and I had little choice regarding the scans, but I wouldn't shy away from them if they are needed. I wouldn't go for a 4D scan as feel they are unnecessary.

Glad to hear DS is doing well Worszel! hope you're ok too xx

Take a look at:
www.intermid.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/library/article.cgi?uid=30491;article=BJM_16_7_458_459

Also in 2007 there was a whole issue of Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology (volume 93, issues 1-3) devoted to the "Effects of ultrasound and infrasound relevant to human health"- I think the abstracts of the articles can be viewed by most, if you Google Scholar the above there are a number of interesting articles.

My sister tried to put me off scans, saying they prevented the baby's cells from developing properly. However, after a scary bout of hyperemesis (SP?) and a miscarriage scare, I figured the slight risk of any scan was completely outweighed by the positive affect that knowing all was safe and well would have on my peace of mind, and subsequentially, the baby I was carrying.
To be honest, if you read up anything to do with pregnancy, someone, somewhere, will tell you it's bad, dangerous or immoral, so just do what is best for you.
(and remember, the NHS is that scared of being sued these days, 'specially after its cock-ups over thalidomaide and such, that it's not going to be offering much that could get it into big expensive law suits in the future!)

sorry - thalidomide!

I was scanned weekly during my pg with ds1 ans i had two scans with the nucular dye injections which they forbid in preganacy.............. ds has no lasting effects.

Never, never Google anything medical, that was the first piece of advice ds's specialist gave us. None of the info is policed or checked, most of it is crap.

I would like to warn against the over use of self dopplers.

In early pregnancy, you have to press quite hard on the tummy and if you are untrained god knows what damage you could be doing.

With my second child I used a doppler from early on. My waters burst at 12 weeks and we was at risk from misscarriage for weeks, Subsequently she lost her left hand just below the elbow in the womb. I do wonder if this was because I put unneccessary pressure on my abdomen when I shouldn't of.