Is it a boy or girl? Questions about Ultrasound Safety/Necessity

I was surprised when I learned that for women with an uncomplicated pregnancy, ultrasounds are not a necessary part of prenatal care. But even though the FDA discourages using them for non-medical purposes (like identifying the gender), no one seems to mind that women these days get an average of four or more ultrasounds over the course of their pregnancies. The following comes from the FDA’s website:

"When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly. In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues (cavitation). The long-term effects of tissue heating and cavitation are not known.

Because of the particular concern for fetal exposures, national and international organizations have advocated prudent use of ultrasound imaging. Furthermore, the use of diagnostic ultrasound for non-medical purposes such as fetal keepsake videos has been discouraged."

This is disconcerting because it feels like society heavily advocates the use of sonograms without really caring about the long-term consequences. Machines keep getting more powerful, but research papers keep saying that there isn’t enough safety testing being done. Just like with tobacco and alcohol, it takes decades after damage has already been done before the government steps up and deems something “unsafe.” History repeats itself you know! Take this example with X-rays:

"X-rays were used on pregnant women for almost fifty years and assumed to be safe. In 1937, a standard textbook on antenatal care stated: 'It has been frequently asked whether there is any danger to the life of the child by the passage of X- rays through it; it can be said at once there is none if the examination is carried out by a competent radiologist or radiographer.' A later edition of the same textbook stated: 'It is now known that the unrestricted use of X-rays through the fetus caused childhood cancer.'" (from http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp)

Another article I read expanded on this notion:
"No one believes that ultrasounds are as dangerous as prenatal X-rays. But the point is that many things in obstetrics are adopted without fully studying their safety and efficacy, and the safety concerns of critics are often ignored for years, harming many babies in the meantime. X-rays is but one example; others include the 'twilight sleep' drugs used during birth for many years, aggressive use of forceps and fundal pressure during birth, drugs such as DES and thalidomide, and many others.  History proves that just because doctors say something is safe doesn't mean it is, and this has been especially true in obstetrics."

It would be one thing if fetal ultrasounds were proven to be risk-free, but if there could be unintended consequences, why chance it? In 1993, the FDA significantly increased allowable exposure limits to account for the stronger signals being used in newer machines, so the argument that ultrasound has been safely used for the past 25-50 years doesn’t quite fit the current technological climate. Scientists have already shown that babies can potentially hear something as loud as a subway train when an ultrasound is being performed. There is even research attributing potential birth defects and neurological conditions to the overuse of fetal ultrasound: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundrodgers.asp

On another interesting note, using ultrasound for early diagnosis of a problem doesn’t do much to improve fetal health since babies can’t be treated in utero anyway: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasound.asp

People have been asking me if I want to find out the gender of the baby before it is born. Sure it would be fun to know, but if I’m going to find out in 3 months anyway, why bother? It’s not like I need to stock up on gender-specific clothes and accessories, with how fast babies grow I’d much rather use hand-me-downs for the first several months anyway. And neutral nursery décor will be great for if the baby’s future siblings are a different gender.

So in short, I plan to limit my ultrasounds to important reasons like pregnancy-related complications. The big question for me all along was this: Do the benefits outweigh the risks? As of now the answer is “no”, but on the bright side, there will be one more thing to look forward to on the baby’s birthday!