FDA warns against ultrasound and doppler use

nicunursetomommy · December 2014

Just figured some of you may want to read this. I've had so many ultrasounds I can't even count anymore

https://www.wfla.com/story/27643260/fda-warns-against-doing-extra-ultrasounds-for-keepsake-images?clienttype=generic&smartdevicecgbypass

chertmm · December 2014

Ouch. Nice to read less than a week after I had an elective ultrasound to find out the sex of our baby before the holidays. :-S

mylittleladies1229 · December 2014

Hmmm. I had about 5000 ultrasounds with my twins and they are beautiful, typical little girls. What they really say is that they don't know the risks of ultrasounds.... Which isn't saying much at all.

annerz22 · December 2014

The FDA is warning against elective ultrasounds and at home Doppler use, not medically necessary ultrasounds. There are many mor in-depth articles about this than this one here, which really says nothing at all.

The main problem is when you have an at home Doppler you are much more likely to use it for extended periods of time. Same with elective ultrasounds, many of those places aren't run by licensed ultrasound techs and can last well over an hour. It's also the issue of 4D ultrasound techno guy that is more the worry than the standard 2-D because of the types of waves the emit. The anatomy scan and Nt Scans are pretty long (30ish mins) but a licensed tech knows what they are doing.

I did get an elective this time around, but like anything I used my judgements and did research. I went to a place where the tech was licensed and before going, looked up her license to make sure she was in good standing. They also have a strict 15 minute time limit. Which is well in the limits of "safe".

This is just another half-assed written article with absolutely no research information that does more scaring and harming than good.

itsmevkb · December 2014

They might do better to say hey, don't go to a non-medical facility to have an ultrasound as a keepsake than to make it sound like OMG you may harm your baby by having too many ultrasounds, which in many pregnancies, is actually medically necessary. Why give those moms anything else to worry about?

And, I question them saying anything given they admit right in the article that there is no proof ultrasounds cause any harm at all.

lgsdesigner · December 2014

I had a ton of extra u/s with both of my other kids because of my short cervix. They are both healthy and doing well.

abeglin · December 2014

Scare tactics!!! Did you know lettuce causes cancer too? Google it. I'm pregnant with twins and have had many many ultrasounds. I also have an at home doppler. My doctor assured me both were perfectly fine so long as I don't keep them on my belly all day!

abeglin · December 2014

This^^^

itsmevkb · December 2014

WAR ON WOMEN!

emilyanimals15 · December 2014

I agree they don't know either way what the long term effects of US are but I think they're just playing the cautionary principle here. I'm not going to stop having my ultrasounds for medical reasons and probably would do the boutique thing if I didn't know the sex, but it's worth thinking about. Clearly most babies/pregnancies have no obvious problems from US but I think it's warranted to have some more studies on the topic, and in the meantime, to keep the POTENTIAL for risks in mind when doing EXTRA US. Of course I know there are some people who will use this as evidence that US are bad for baby, but that's just wrong- and I also think that even if there is some risk, the benefits outweigh that potential when talking about medical scans.

FreddyisReady · December 2014

I'm totally sharing this on FB. There is a girl who admits to using her home Doppler more than once per day. And it seems like every day she posts "haven't felt the baby move in a couple hours. I'm really worried." Or "dog jumped on me, is the baby ok?"

I understand being concerned, but c'mon! This is just obsessive.

Pintobean39 · December 2014

Cue all the post coming up on everyone freaking out because they had an ultrasound and heard the hb on the Doppler. Thanks, FDA for scaring the shit out of people when there is "lack of evidence of any harm due to ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors".

I'm going to sit back and watch while I eat my turkey sandwich. :-)

saamb · December 2014

I'm glad I'm not the only one a little skeptical of this. I read this article right after finding my baby's heartbeat on my doppler. I got it a week ago and have been using it almost every night as our way to connect with baby. I called my doctor right away and she said unless you're using it for hours on end not to be too concerned. We've cut back our use a bit but I will definitely be pulling it out when my family flies in for Christmas!

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