"Scientists are to investigate whether ultrasound scans may harm the brains of unborn babies.
The move follows a preliminary study which showed when pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound, their developing offspring suffered brain abnormalities. "
Source: Daily Mail
Gary Moller Comments:
At last! Research is now starting to hint at what many parents have long suspected - our babies do not like untrasound imaging.
Having had four children, three of whom, incidentally, were born at home, I feel partially qualified to comment.
Only our last child had ultrsound imaging and, at the time, I was uncomfortable with it and cautioned against it being done more than once. After all, why have any kind of procedure when there are no clinical reasons for doing so? I feel I have a healthy understanding of ultrasound, having worked around the technology for many years. Ultrasound vibrates the internal contents of a cell so violently that it generates heat (this includes the genetic code). It can cause cells to burst. Therapists, like physiotherapists, must exercise considerable caution when applying ultrasound as therapy.
Depending on the frequency of the ultrasound, it can be heard by animals with acute hearing and this could conceivably include the tiny unborn child. It may cause extreme pain in creatures that can hear it. It makes no sense to violently vibrate a foetus with ultrasound. Virtually every is cell of a foetus is in a constant state of division with its genetic contents in an extremely vulnerable condition as it replicates. Any damage to a child's delicate genetic code must be avoided at all costs.
The fact that it penetrates the mother's womb deep enough to bounce off the unborn child means that the microwave radiation is strong enough to penetrating the child. While heating of the baby may be minimal, I have no doubt that the microwaves are being felt in some way. As any mother will tell you who has had ultrasound imaging of her child, the child tends to be much more active during the procedure, almost as if she or he is trying to get away. The technician doing the procedure downplays these attempts at escape by cooing about how active the little fellow is.
Ultrasound imaging is yet another of those procedures that is mostly unnecessary; but which is now far too commonplace and totally over-used. For our first three children we had a very experienced midwife and an equally experienced doctor. They used their hands and other non-invasive tests to determine the positions and health of our unborn children and their mother. Having our babies at home ensured that there was no unnecessary technological interference in what is a healthy and natural process.
High technology medicine should be reserved for those mothers and their children with established risk factors.