Too many ultrasounds linked to autism

hshipman

Hi all! I went in for my first prenatal appointment last week and had an ultrasound (at 7 weeks) Pap smear and blood work done. When I was getting my blood drawn the lady said "Oh how sweet. You had your first ultrasound today! We do those a lot here." Of course I want to see my baby and make sure he/she is growing at the right pace, etc... But I've also read a few articles and heard from a few moms that frequent ultrasounds might be one of the things that's causing Autism... I just wondered what your thoughts were and if your doctors have mentioned anything along these lines. It's always nice to hear what others in my same boat think about such a touchy subject.

Thank you!

meghanplusdavid

I think that is unlikely. Just like people that freak out about vaccines and try to say that causes autism. I wouldn't stress, a few ultrasounds over the course of a pregnancy isn't going to hurt your baby. I also wouldn't google it or read random articles on the Internet. Ask your doctor

jennaymg13

Sounds like Bologna to me. I had an ultrasound every two weeks with my son due to bleeding and a spot on his lung. He's fine

MrsTeacher25

I had a lady tell me that during my first pregnancy. I am a special ed teacher and did tons of research after, esp BC I was high risk and got ultrasounds with my son every other week and then every week leading up to him being born. I found no real scientific evidence. I read one medical journal that was inconclusive and that was the closest thing to real I found. I think people need to blame something. It is easier to say something like vaccines, or ultrasounds cause it but in reality it is random and genetics. In the end, I had about 30 ultrasounds and my son is perfectly fine.

hshipman

Thank you all for your kind replies!! As much as it sounded like bologna to me too, I just couldn't help but wonder.

MissMheMhe

My dr plans on performing an u/s at every appointment following my a/s because of my thyroid. He said it is to make sure the baby continues to grow on track. I am not concerned about the extra scans. Actually looking forward to them!

CBWifey

I was reading in an attachment parenting book there are no scientific studies that can directly point to it, although it could be a possible causal effect of ultrasounds, but there's no actual link published yet. I agree with the other posters, it is easy to try and point the finger at one thing or another and say it's causing autism, but again, that dr that said all that about the vaccines, his paper has been discredited and he's facing legal issues now. At the end of the day most Drs will determine what is best for mom and baby with the mindset that the benefits outweigh the risks. There is some evidence that ultrasounds cause heat, when I went in for my first ultrasound at 6 weeks, the tech didn't turn on the sound to hear the heartbeat, she said to protect fragile tissue. So it seems our hospital is aware of risks just as I'm sure all are, and will again, weigh the risks vs the benefits.

mamaksweez

I don't think ultrasounds cause autism. However, I don't think they are really great for the baby either. With my first (and I plan to do the same with this one) we just had the initial ultrasound and the 20 week one. Of course if doc thinks something is wrong I'll let them do more, but since it's "generally considered safe when used appropriately " (Mayo Clinic) I think it can be unsafe if used too much.

ChrissyD1203

I'm not worried about them. Every single thing I have looked up, "is X safe during pregnancy" and I can find at least 15 sources on each sides doing opposite things. So other than not drinking, not smoking, not eating raw fish, unpasteurized cheese, etc, not working out like a manic, not doing hazardous activities like surfing or skydiving-- I'm taking everything else with a grain of salt and doing it in moderation unless it just doesn't feel right. I had to get a cat scan of a tumor on my skull (which was benign Thank God) and take an antibiotic for an infection - and had to just tell myself to stop googling and stop stressing. Since I put down my Internet university degree, my life and pregnancy has been considerably better - which I'm sure is better for baby!

enkb

I have read a few similar articles and am choosing to go with the minimum number of ultrasounds my provider recommends.  I have found with any internet research on pregnancy stuff that it works much better if I only read peer reviewed scientific journal articles and stay far far away from blogs and popular science sites, which often create more confusion and anxiety for me.  I have a research background and always feel more comfortable if I can go to my doctor or midwife with a specific study in hand and ask their opinion, rather than asking more general questions.  That way I get a better feel for if they are aware of the particular issue, and not just telling me what they think I want to hear. 

Although I certainly respect everyone's individual experiences, and am always glad to hear about healthy babies, I generally don't feel comfortable making decisions about my pregnancy based on something working well for someone else.  If you are concerned about it, bring it up to your provider again, and read a few more actual studies with large numbers of test subjects. 

SummerOH

Oh for Pete's sake (not directed at you, just this idea!).  I think I've heard it all now.  They do not cause autism.  If that were true, then how do women who DID NOT have many ultrasounds have kids with autism?  Correlation does not equal causation.  Could it be that moms who have kids with autism were high-risk to begin with, or there was something else going on with the baby that required more frequent ultrasounds? 

l4rk

Yeah, sounds like people are mixing up correlation with cause. "All the women who had autistic kids also had ultrasounds, so ultrasounds must therefore cause autism!" Honestly, if an actual cause of autism was known, it would be well documented, become public knowledge and directly impact medical practices. Doctors wouldn't recommend ultrasounds if it was likely they were actually causing autism.

dees2nd

I have a son with Autism and wouldn't 'blame' it on ultrasounds. I blame nothing, no one, and love my son for who he is

mg137

I've never heard about a link to autism and find it pretty unlikely. Though I have read that too many too long ultrasounds may potentially be harmful because they can raise the temperature of the baby. No one has proven this to be true to my knowledge, it's just a theory. I think the concern was with ultrasounds over either 20 or 30 minutes, I can't remember which. Most moms will only have one of those (the structural ultrasound) so you probably have nothing to worry about. What I read was concerned with parent who buy ultrasound machines to look at their babies for a long time at home whenever they feel like it. We had twins last time so we had tons of ultrasounds so this time we're going to let the little thing cook with as few sound waves bothering it as possible, but I don't think the frequent ultrasounds hurt the girls.

If you have any concern just ask to only have ultrasounds with a medical purpose. In a normal low risk pregnancy that'll probably be 2-4 with only one long one. If uou want less you can also decline one or more, though the structural ultrasound is important as it can identify serious problems with the baby, some of which can be fixed before birth. Talk to your doctor. We told ours we wanted to limit them so when she wanted to send me for a dating ultrasound (I'm breastfeeding so date of conception couldn't be based off last period) she explained her reasons and left the decision up to us. We decided to do it because the medical reasons to do it seemed to pretty clearly outweigh any tiny potential risks of having an extra 5 minutes or so of ultrasound.

Knottie1452445632

it's probably a load of rubbish/ A scaremongering tactic. My son has aspergers and only have the two scans we get here in the UK (12 and 20 weeks). However you could say that that's why he has aspergers but there is a trait of it in the family going back years and years to people who are so old that they did not have a scam is available, so my theory is there may be a minute smidge of truth in it but the evidence is severely lacking and it's bound to be down to genetics. As long as you're not having an excessive amount of scan just for fun I wouldn't worry. Xxxx

KayTaylor14

Your doctor is more educated BY FAR than mom's on the internet. Those are also probably anti-vaxer mom's. Trust your doctor. They are not going to do anything that will harm you or baby.

bonniegrace

While I don't think ultrasounds are the only cause of autism (lots of moms don't get them or get only a couple and may still have an autistic child), there are still lots of studies that link too many ultrasounds with lots of problems, including autism. It's proven that cells actually temporarily stop moving and generating under the rays of an ultrasound. The activity starts up again after you remove the ultrasound. Knowing that, I wouldn't get one during the embryonic stage (first 10 weeks) when baby is most susceptible to birth defects and neurological disorders developing. I plan to only have one at 20 weeks, and I'm even squeamish of that one.

It's important to remember that doctor's are in the business to make money. Many of the things they recommend are actually less for your benefit and more for theirs. Let's not forget that ultrasounds are a diagnostic tool, just like X-rays and MRIs. No one gets an MRI just to make sure everything is ok. You only get one if your doctor suspects there is a problem. I don't know why ultrasounds became such a heavily used tool.

enkb

Thanks @bonniegrace, this was exactly my point.  I'm not sure why autism is such a specific hot topic right now, but there have been credible, albeit small studies that show a variety of risk with several ultrasounds, including results in mice that have been related to autistic behavior in humans.  Other potential problems that have been seen are low birth weight and preterm labor.  The point of a well conducted scientific study is to tease apart correlation and causation, and several of these studies do so in a convincing way to me.  I hold a PhD in a research based science field and am very comfortable reading and interpreting scientific study results.  If you have not read a study design it is not good practice to dismiss it out of hand because you do not understand how the study may have compensated for various different biases.

I am certainly not an 'anti-vaxer'. Just because one very badly conducted study showed one thing linked to autism doesn't mean every potential link to autism should be thrown out as being clearly crazy. 

As far as doctors only doing things that are safe and well supported by the evidence, I strongly disagree with this statement, and many decades of clearly harmful practices in maternity care back this up.  These include routine episiotomies, continuous fetal monitoring, automatic C-sections for 'big babies' all of which are absolutely shown to cause more harm then good but are still common practices in maternity care today.

Absolutely talk to your doctor or midwife about anything you are concerned about, but please DO NOT believe that every thing that they are telling you is totally supported by the evidence.  If something doesn't feel right, look into it more yourself, by reading actual scientific studies, NEVER by listening to blogs or people on forums (including me).

SummerOH

bonniegrace said:

It's important to remember that doctor's are in the business to make money. Many of the things they recommend are actually less for your benefit and more for theirs. Let's not forget that ultrasounds are a diagnostic tool, just like X-rays and MRIs. No one gets an MRI just to make sure everything is ok. You only get one if your doctor suspects there is a problem. I don't know why ultrasounds became such a heavily used tool.

I couldn't disagree more. Most doctors aren't wealthy. I have several friends who are physicians in various fields and my husband is a pharmacist (technically a doctor, of pharmacy of course). None of them did it to make money. Most were affected at some point in their lives (im the case of my oncologist friend who lost her mom to cancer as a teen) or truly love the field (like my husband). Engineering fields pay more these days, after all is said and done. Do you realize the astronomical debt most are in and how expensive malpractice insurance is? Reimbursement rates by public and even private insurers are pretty low, too. I do believe doctors order too many tests but think it has more to do with being overly cautious in our sue-happy society.