Ultrasound

In the manner of hippies, Amish-people and the like, wifey and I decided not to have a routine ultrasound on Baby.
We decided that if anything seemed to be medically wrong with the pregnancy (me not feeling well, the baby not growing, bleedings etc) we would have a medical ultrasound to see how Baby was doing. Until then we would just have to wait and see what would unfold.
During these past 37 weeks, the only thing the midwife has come near Baby with is a Pinnard horn (as in the picture), her hands and a measuring tape.

The reason I thought of ultrasounds this morning was I stumbled across this on facebook;

"Think Ultrasound for Babies Is Safe?


Research shows ultrasound populations have a quadrupled perinatal death rate, increased rates of brain damage, dyslexia, speech delays, epilepsy, and learning difficulties.Perinatal death rate quadrupled in ultrasound group. (2,475 woman study by Davies et al., 1993); Midwifery Today.

1984 study shows ultrasound babies developed more dyslexia, and twice as often showed delayed speech of unknown causes. (Stark et al 1984); Midwifery Today; Effects of Frequent Ultrasound During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Males who were subjected to ultrasound more likely to show signs of brain damage. Journal Epidemiology December 2001.

Ultrasound babies are more likely to develop epilepsy and learning difficulties. Ultrasound Abstracts.

Males babies exposed to two or more ultrasounds were 32% more likely to be lefthanded (which is thought to be caused by brain damage). Ultrasound Abstracts.

Four hours after ultrasound, cell death doubles and rate of cell division drops by 22% in mammals and researchers believe results same in humans. Ultrasound Abstracts.

Risk of miscarriage significantly increased among women who perform ultrasound more than 20 hours a week. (Taskinen et al., 1990); Midwifery Today.

Babies who had serious problems and were ultrasounded died more often than non-ultrasounded babies with serious problems. Midwifery Today

Ultrasounded babies who were growth retarded were three times more likely more likely to be admitted to ICU than non-ultrasounded babies who were growth restricted. Midwifery Today

Preterm labor more than doubled in ultrasounded women. (Lorenz et al., 1990); Midwifery Today

Researchers who developed ultrasound admitted possibility of hazard from ultrasound and said that it should never, ever be used on babies under three months. Midwifery Today

Cells exposed to single dose of ultrasound behave abnormally ten generations after insonation. Midwifery Today

Ultrasound affects fetal weight, organ weight, immune systems, and blood platelets which allow blood to clot; researches believe problems from ultrasound – including possibility of cancer, leukemia, and congenital malformations – could take as long as 20 years to surface. Ultrasound Abstracts; Effects of Frequent Ultrasound During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Impaired brain function and decreased locomotor and exploratory activity in mice exposed to ultrasound. Effect of Fetal Exposure to Ultrasound on the Behavior of the Adult Mouse.

Ultrasound’s gaseous cavitation increases free radical production in amniotic fluid and blood plasma, and provides a likely mechanism for DNA damage. Crum et al (1987); Ellisman et al (1987)

Because babies’ heads are bowl shaped, radiation from ultrasound is magnified and can result in parts of the brain being subjected to extra high intensities of radiation. A Prudent Approach to Ultrasound Imaging of the Fetus and Newborn by Kenneth Taylor, M.D.

Even if the above stats don’t give you pause, how about the fact that ultrasound measures 100 decibels in utero – that’s the equivalent of having your infant stand on a subway platform as a train comes roaring in and screeches to a halt New Scientist. As one writer notes, if you’ve ever heard of on opera singer breaking a sheet of glass with her voice, that is an example of what just one slow sound wave can do . . . but ultrasound uses ultra high frequency sound waves which bombard the child at an extremely high rate of speed. New Scientist.

Perhaps most ironic and compelling is this quote from one of Yale’s MD elite (Dr. Kenneth Taylor, M.D., Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Chief of the Ultrasound Section at Yale University School of Medicine) who states: “I would not let anybody get near my infant’s head with a transducer [ultrasound wand] . . .” A Prudent Approach to Ultrasound Imaging of the Fetus and Newborn by Kenneth Taylor, M.D."

Here's the link where you can go to the sources of the research articles; http://health.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978382100
(No, I still don't know how to create a link, I'm a lousy blogger, I know. I'm gonna ask wifey to help me figure it out. Until then, you will have to continue to copy-paste, dear reader).

And I again thought of our reasons for not having a routine ultrasound on Baby. I remember talking about it with the midwife on our first appointment. Actually it took up most of the time and might be the reason she forgot to mention the RH+/- screening we were doing but got no info about.

The conversation was very vague on her part, perhaps you are not allowed, as medical staff, to have any opinions.

Wifey asked the midwife if she had had ultrasounds performed on her children. She said she hadn't.

I thought of that time I accompanied an aquiantance to have laser eye surgery for her near-sightedness. And all the doctors and nurses at the clinic wore glasses themselves.
Go figure.

The midwife said (back in week 10) that we would have to wait until week 20-24 before we might be able to hear Babys heartbeats with a Pinnard horn. I figured waiting for a bit would be better than subjecting Baby to something uncomfortable; and potentially dangerous.

And since I could feel Baby in week 14 already, the waiting was even easier.
One of the doctors at work told me it was IMPOSSIBLE to feel a baby at week 14, especially when it's your first. She said if I really did feel something, I must be further along in pregnancy than I thought.
I reminded her that for me and wifey, there is only one Saturday in August conception could have taken place. So miscalculations were not very likely.
These doctors and their textbook cases...

The body is so much more complex, wise and communicative than can be measured, calculated and squeezed into a one-experience-fits-all.
I dared to trust Baby and her movements (atleast some of the time) even in week 14, and now there can be now doubt about it, as anyone who gets near her gets a kick in the head.

If you want to read up on ultrasound, I recommend this book;

It has an excellent chapter on ultrasounds, what research says about it, what potential risks and benefits there might be.

The final reasoning wifey and I had was; even if an ultrasound would show there might be something wrong with our baby, we would never consider terminating her life.
Interpreting an ultrasound is not as easy as it might seem. There are lots of babies born perfectly healthy where ultrasounds indicated otherwise. And the other way around; babies born with handicaps the ultrasound did not forsee.

A woman at my office actually was told her son might have a major heart condition after an ultrasound. She and her husband were devastated, but decided to try to ignore the ultrasound and carry on with the pregnancy.
She gave birth to a healthy boy who is now 5 yrs old and has never had any heart problems. It was probably just a blotch on the ultrasound screen, the hospital staff said.

I think there are a lot of valid reasons for having ultrasounds during a pregnancy, but none of them applied to us.
It would have been useless information, in the manner of all the fertility tests; Everything seems fine, lets look for a problem! Surprise; there ARE no problems. Or perhaps; there MIGHT be a problem, but since you don't want to have an abortion there is nothing else to do but wait and see if the baby is healty when she is born.

On a last note; if you check out the gynecological associations or here in Sweden; Svenska strålskyddsmyndigheten. You will see that NONE of them recommends routine ultrasounds, but rather just for medical purposes when the benefits outweigh the risks.
And really, these are the experts talking.
I rest my case.