Just had my 32 week doctors appointment specifically to have an ultrasound to check on the baby. I had one at 12 weeks and one at 18 weeks. If I could do it over again, I would have declined this 32 week ultrasound. The doctor even told me at 30 weeks that he'd like to do an ultrasound at 32 weeks, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. He just likes to do it to check the size of the baby and the amniotic fluid levels and blood flow to the baby. I thought to myself, "If it's quick and its the 2D kind, then I guess it's OK."
Well, it ended up not being so quick... I got light headed from laying on my back... so he said I could turn onto my left side and continue the ultrasound. Before turning, I could see the ultrasound screen and it was definitely taking 2D pictures so I felt comfortable with that. But after I turned to my left side, I couldn't see the screen anymore. The doctor told me he wanted to try to get a picture of her face so I could send it to my hubby (hubby is out of town in Switzerland for work). I assumed it would be a 2D shot... but he switched the machine onto 4D and took a picture that way. This made me really upset, but I didn't say anything at the time because I realized that I didn't specifically remind him not to do a 4D. Now, what's the big deal about a 4D ultrasound? Most people say there is nothing wrong with them and they haven't been proven to be unsafe. But they also haven't been proven to be safe and the FDA recommends against them unless there is a medical need. A photograph of the baby's face is definitely not a medical need. So I was upset and even started crying on my drive home. I don't want to do anything that would harm the baby. My hubby also asked me to tell them not to do a 4D ultrasound because he had also heard from an Electrical Engineer PhD friend that they are very powerful and may cause heating in delicate tissues (like the brain). So I had to tell him about the 4D face picture (too bad it was her face and not her foot or something less delicate). Also, you can barely make out her baby face features in the picture... she looks distorted in the picture. I'm going to see her in a few weeks... so why do I need to see her face now if it isn't medically necessary to expose her to strong ultrasound waves? This all made me sad.
My husband reassured me that she's probably just fine and that there will be much bigger trials we'll have to face in the future - like the first time she falls and hits her head. I'm going to have to toughen up in order to do a good job at dealing with this new precious life I'm responsible for. I want to protect her from everything!
Oh, and Baby J is in the transverse, spine down position with her head, hands and feet all on my right side! Time for some inversions (see pregnancy links "Helping turn a breech/transverse baby 1 & 2" in my list of Helpful Pregnancy Links).
An excerpt from one of the articles on the dangers of using 4D ultrasound for "portraits":
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-27-prenatal-portraits_x.htm
"Even worse, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine warns that although there are no confirmed biological effects from prenatal ultrasounds, possible problems could be identified in the future, especially because these unregulated scans are longer, use more energy and can be more frequent.
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce diagnostic images of developing babies.
Two-dimensional ultrasound has been around since the 1960s, helping doctors diagnose birth defects, fetal growth and position, and more. Millions of fetal ultrasounds are done each year, and more than 30 years of research and practice have found them to be safe.
In recent years, medical technologists have developed 3D ultrasound systems that determine the volume of the fetus and then reconstruct the image in three dimensions. The 4D ultrasounds take those 3D pictures and turn them into moving images.
Outside of obstetrics, ultrasound is widely used for an array of diagnostic and therapeutic reasons, from heating and healing tissue to locating gallstones.
"Ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effects in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature," the FDA said. Because of this, "prenatal ultrasounds can't be considered completely innocuous.""
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