I am thinking of having one, but I am very torn about it. It would obviously be just for our entertainment and not medical purposes. It would be done at a center that employs accredited sonographers and has a medical director on staff. And it wouldn't be more than half an hour exposure time.
The thing is, nobody knows how safe they are. With our issues this pregnancy, we had frequent ultrasounds (as much as once a week during weeks 17-24, and twice a week before then and now). My doc said it's up to us, but ACOG does not like them.
So, did you guys have one? Are you going to have one? If not, why not?
Re: 3D/4D ultrasounds
One piece of advice- don't wait too long! We waited until I was 35 weeks, which is considered very, very late in the game. At that point it can be very difficult to get good images; we were very fortunate they we did. She did NOT want to move her hand off the front of her face!
I'm always in the minority with this opinion, but we are not doing an elective ultrasound based on the FDA's recommendation and the general stance of the ACOG.
Obviously it's a personal decision, but if it's something you're not sure about doing, I would say don't do it.
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Did one and absolutely loved it! With all the TTC troubles DH and I have had, it really helped our "bonding" experience with the LO. For me, the emotional benefit I received from having it done outweighed any risks.
I have had a bunch of ultrasounds at my MFM office due to diabetes, and of course I still have baggage from all of the ultrasounds we had to endure during IVF over and over again. Oh, and we also had a bunch early on because my beta's weren't rising like they wanted and they thought I was having an ectopic pregnancy. So for me, ultrasound = stress.
It was just nice to be able to go in and see the LO on the ultrasound without worrying about receiving any "bad news" about something. We brought both of the future grandmothers with us, and they had a blast.
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I am not going to have one due to the expense. I felt like the object of a marketing study in my first OB appointment -- tons of information thrown at me about elective stuff that all costs $, and I think it just turned me off. I'm willing to be surprised to see my child's face and features when s/he's born.
That's just my own personal opinion, obviously, and on the other hand I can totally understand why people enjoy having them. Safety never really factored into the decision for me -- I do not believe there is any clear evidence that 3D ultrasounds are harmful in any way.