Ultrasounds and dopplers

[Tacey]

I keep coming across bits of information querying the safety of using ultrasound during pregnancy. Has anyone opted not to have scans or use a doppler, or reduce their use? I haven't done any proper research into it, I'm ashamed to say partly because I really want to have the 12 week scan to see all is well! Has anyone got any solid evidence either for or against the use of scans and dopplers in pregnancy?

 

[special_kala]

i think its the same as everything over use can be dangerous but occasional is ok.

 

[NaturalMomma]

I've seen research papers done on dopplers and u/s showing that cells can mutate/die, etc. However, I do think it's ok to get a u/s done in the middle of pregnancy. I had 2 with ds1 and 1 with ds2. However, I do not allow doppler use.

 

[steph.]

I've read a few articles and none have said that ultrasounds and dopplers definately cause problems. I think having the 12 week and the 20 week scans are important as if there is something wrong with the baby, there can be more support present at the birth (if baby needs immediate care).

 

[Tacey]

I've seen research papers done on dopplers and u/s showing that cells can mutate/die, etc. However, I do think it's ok to get a u/s done in the middle of pregnancy. I had 2 with ds1 and 1 with ds2. However, I do not allow doppler use.

Are any of the research papers online or easily accessible? Do you have any links to good ones? I've heard some people say that dopplers are more intense than u/s scans, and others say the reverse, so I'm quite confused.

I've decided to go for the 12 week one (I think!) as my dates could be a few weeks off as my cycle was so irregular during breastfeeding, and I don't want lots of monitoring for going overdue if I'm not.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to just go with the norm and not consider everything in minute detail, but I just cant bring myself to without researching it.

 

[lynnikins]

i dont see the risks as too high personally, multiples get extra scans so surely if there were a definate link to problems that we would see it in all twin, triplet + pregnancys they dont use extra strong ultrasound anyway and its only for a very short time. i have no issue with doppler use either as its not prolonged

 

[Hels_Bells]

We have elected not to get an U/S because of all the contradictory info. However, we are getting ONE dating scan. There is some debate about our conception date, placing my due date somewhere between the 17th and 21st of April. Since they ship you to the hospital if you're one week over due, we really need to know the exact date.

I honestly don't know what to believe about the safety issue. I do know, however, that when my husband (an engineer) did an experiment with ultrasounds, he was really freaked out by what happened. They filled a tub with water and then hit it with U/S waves. The water rippled pretty fiercely and when he touched it, it zapped him. After that, neither one of us feel comfortable exposing our baby to that if its not medically necessary.

 

[kellyb]

We only elected to do one ultrasound at 20 weeks, and we don't use the doppler, just a fetoscope. Though there isn't any definite evidence that this tech equipment is dangerous, I just don't trust it yet. I read an article called "Ultrasound, Unsound" and that was a bit eye-opening. But more than that, I just feel like in the 70's when I was born, they weren't using ultrasounds, and all went well. I always find myself wondering why kids nowadays have so many issues--so many are on drugs for a variety of problems that didn't seem to exist in my generation. Granted, maybe things are overdiagnosed today, or were underdiagnosed when I was a kid. Regardless, there's also a good chance that our over-medicalization (drugs during birth, vaccines, ultrasounds) could be contributing factors. I also think about times in history when they used, for instance, x-rays, regularly on pregnant women--it was the norm. Then years later they realized how dangerous that was. The same is true of many drugs that used to be used on pregnant women--they only find out later that they are bad. So anyway, I'm trying to stay away from as much of this stuff as possible, and just let nature take its course!

 

[NaturalMomma]

I've seen research papers done on dopplers and u/s showing that cells can mutate/die, etc. However, I do think it's ok to get a u/s done in the middle of pregnancy. I had 2 with ds1 and 1 with ds2. However, I do not allow doppler use.

Are any of the research papers online or easily accessible? Do you have any links to good ones? I've heard some people say that dopplers are more intense than u/s scans, and others say the reverse, so I'm quite confused.

I've decided to go for the 12 week one (I think!) as my dates could be a few weeks off as my cycle was so irregular during breastfeeding, and I don't want lots of monitoring for going overdue if I'm not.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to just go with the norm and not consider everything in minute detail, but I just cant bring myself to without researching it.

Yes, but for some reason I can't get a second window to pop up. Must be my connection. I'll try to dig them up this week and post them.

 

[Allie84]

I'm having to get biophysical profiles weekly now for my gestational diabetes...and this involves a weekly ultrasound! Yikes! The maximum they will do it for is 30 minutes...and although I'm a bit disconcerted by the thought of it, I've read a lot online and feel the benefits in my case outweigh any potential risks, as I have a medical condition (GD) which is proven to have the capacity to harm the baby wheras u/s harming is the baby is still unproven and speculation.

 

[StranjeGirl]

I have had to have many ultrasounds, probably 20 so far due to complications, and I have a doppler. It worries me due to reading things on the internet, but honestly there are really no studies showing issues with it in humans. I have friends who got at least monthly ultrasounds and had perfectly healthy babies, and I know in some other countries, they do ultrasounds at every appt, and those are at least monthly. I think if it were an issues we would know, but that is just my opinion and you have to do what feels right to you. I will report back after baby is born with how many ultrasounds I had and how things turned out!

 

[Narie]

I had 2 scans with ds, 3 with dd (last one was very quickly at around 37 weeks as there was a query to whether or not she was breech,but they just scanned my pelvis and said nope there's the head) and 2 so far with this little one (hopefully no more scans). I've also listened to the baby's heartbeat once on the mw doppler at my 16 weeks appointment so far. For me personally the benefits outweigh the potential risks. But if your concerned do your research I'm sure you'll find out what is best for you and your baby.

 

[NaturalMomma]

https://www.livestrong.com/article/136464-fetal-ultrasound-risks/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1639-fetuses-can-hear-ultrasound-examinations-.html
https://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundrodgers.asp
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2390856/
https://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc22.htm#SubSectionNumber:6.3.2
https://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp
https://www.asrt.org/content/News/IndustryNewsBriefs/Sono/studyshows062408.aspx

I do believe atleast 1 ultrasound during pregnancy is beneficial, preferably around 20 weeks. It should be no longer than 15-30 minutes of exposure. Ultrasounds are typically over used and can cause problems like thinking a baby is too big when they are actually 6 lbs (happens a lot actually). Manual palpatations, like MWs typically use, work just a good as a ultrasound for many of the things Doctors use u/s' for. Obviously palpatations can't pick up a heart defect in a baby, or another abnormality, but that is why 1 is a good idea around the 20 week mark when it is easy to see baby. Palpatation can also determine where the placenta is, as well as listening with a fetoscope. If a woman or baby has a medical complication that can be detected/watched/etc. with ultrasounds then that is a different story. But a normal low risk healthy mom and baby doesn't need more than 1 or 2 ultrasounds in a pregnancy.

Doppler radar is hard to find in terms of risk because it is fairly new. Doppler uses more sound waves, so if there are risks to a u/s then it would stand to reason there are risks to a doppler. Just because they haven't found risks doesn't mean there isn't any, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. For all I know is there is a large doppler study going on right now that'll be released in a few years. A Doctor should be capable of using a fetoscope. There is NO risk to a fetoscope at all, plus you can hear the actual heart beat rather than the sound waves like a doppler.

I am not comfortable advising mother's to use a at home doppler. Not enough research to prove they are safe, plus a doppler can give out false security and many women pick up the placenta rather than the baby, or their own heartbeat.

 

[Tacey]

Thanks NaturalMomma! That made very interesting reading. I am going to talk to my midwife about using a fetoscope rather than a doppler (not looking forward to that conversation, i think she thinks I'm a crackpot already!). I've decided to go for the 12 week scan, because I'm really not sure about my dates. I could be off either way by a few weeks as my cycle was so irregular. I'm not certain about the 20 week one.

I do find it bizarre that something that is used so widely doesn't seem to have been tested as rigorously as you'd expect. The rise of the 4D scans, 'meet your baby' experiences, and dopplers for home use seems frightening to me.

 

[SpunkyMunkey]

We have elected not to get an U/S because of all the contradictory info. However, we are getting ONE dating scan. There is some debate about our conception date, placing my due date somewhere between the 17th and 21st of April. Since they ship you to the hospital if you're one week over due, we really need to know the exact date.

I honestly don't know what to believe about the safety issue. I do know, however, that when my husband (an engineer) did an experiment with ultrasounds, he was really freaked out by what happened. They filled a tub with water and then hit it with U/S waves. The water rippled pretty fiercely and when he touched it, it zapped him. After that, neither one of us feel comfortable exposing our baby to that if its not medically necessary.

What kind of ultrasound did he use in that experiment? Because there are different ultrasound machines used for different medical things. Like, a physical therapist may use an ultrasound for deep heat or to promote healing, but it's contraindicated for use near a gravid uterus. However, it is operating at a much higher frequency than an ultrasound machine used for looking at a baby or making diagnoses. They do limit the time of those ultrasounds to prevent the fetus getting heated, but regardless, it wouldn't create heat like the type used for deep heat. Also, what do you mean by "zapped him?" There shouldn't be any sort of electrical shock, as the ultrasound machine is using sound waves. And, in fact, the kind used by physical therapists can be used underwater. If he touched the ultrasound head, then it may have been that it was hot, but when using it in the water, you're not supposed to touch the head. And again, that would be using a different type than would be used for looking at a baby.