So I came across this article the other day summing up the latest study done on prenatal ultrasound. It's not a big surprise, but the study concludes that ultrasound may very well change how your baby's brain is developing in utero. Not surprising, but disturbing nonetheless. However, what is really disturbing to me is the interpretation of this study by some.

It seems at this point (perhaps thanks to Tom Cruise's purchase of a personal ultrasound machine) everyone pretty much agrees that ultrasound for “entertainment purposes” is not a good idea. So, your doctor may not be encouraging that half-hour 3D ultrasound you can get at the mall, complete with video and pictures of your baby moving in real-time. Those are bad, they agree, because they serve no medical purpose. But my question is, what about all the routine ultrasound that is done as a matter of course in a woman's pregnancy? Who is keeping tabs on what is medical necessity here, and what are your choices?

In my mind, there are reasons for ultrasound and there are not. If you're having bleeding and don't know why, that is an excellent reason to take a quick scan of your baby, placenta, etc. But why are care providers still insisting on ultrasounds right away to date a pregnancy? Think of how small your baby is at this point, relative to the force of the ultrasound waves. There are many ways to date a pregnancy, but this is surely the quickest (although not necessarily the most accurate). And my all time favorite, the obligatory 20 week scan. Maybe your caregiver is different, but for my first pregnancy (as well as for everyone else I know that has had a hospital birth) no one told me the risks, had a good reason for ordering it (other than routine) or told me about the false positive rate.

Here's a fun fact- a study in Helsinki divided women into 2 groups. The group that was subjected to ultrasound between 16-20 weeks had 20 miscarriages sometime after that, and there were no miscarriages in the group without scans.

So why isn't this routine 20 week ultrasound falling under these guidelines of avoiding scans? Is “routine” any better than “entertainment”?

I think we've come to think we need someone to tell us exactly what is going on with our babies and our bodies because we are not in touch with either enough to know for ourselves. But with these risks out on the table, every woman should do her own investigating and her own thinking before agreeing to anything routine. The studies are showing one thing, and many care providers are choosing to ignore these recommendations and pretend that they don't apply to the way they practice. I urge you to do your own research and do what feels right to you.