Ultrasounds in pregnancy, are they safe?
This blog has been in the works for many months, but due to my own concerns about portraying the research correctly, and the potential for backlash from the medical community, I have sat on publishing this for quite some time! So here we go... Over the span of 30 years there has been a steady increase in the routine use of ultrasound technology during pregnancy. Initially, women received one, maybe two ultrasounds to determine the sex of the fetus, to determine size and confirm the EDD, and to assess for any congenital abnormalities. Now, women often received multiple throughout their pregnancies, but we'll get to that in a bit. Ultrasounds are generally thought to be completely safe and to carry very little risk, but unfortunately this isn't true. Contrary to over 30 years of warnings about the potential risks of ultrasound exposure and other non-evidence based interventions, the market for medical technology in pregnancy and childbirth has continued to expand. In many case...