There is no proof ultrasounds harm babies or mothers

There is no proof ultrasounds harm babies or mothers

(Reuters) - There is no evidence to suggest that ultrasound examinations during pregnancy are dangerous to fetuses, as some social media posts have falsely said. Experts contacted by Reuters said there were no signs of any increases in deaths or distress among babies or mothers who had standard ultrasounds or the more powerful Doppler ultrasound under medical supervision.

An Instagram post from Dec. 1 contains several slides that claim that “Doppler ultrasound has been shown to cause significant heating, specifically in the baby’s brain in the womb.” The post also says that ultrasound risks can include “growth restriction, birth malformations, cancer and perinatal death.” (here)

The Mayo Clinic describes an ultrasound during pregnancy as a tool that uses sound waves to create images of a fetus. A Doppler ultrasound also uses sound waves, but can also check blood flow. (here)

Piero Miloro, a senior research scientist in the Medical Ultrasound group at The National Physical Laboratory, the United Kingdom’s national measurement institution, told Reuters via email: “There is no evidence at all that ultrasound is linked to adverse effects, including growth restrictions, malformations or cancer, or any increased risk of perinatal death.”

Miloro added that the Doppler form of ultrasound does generate higher temperatures than standard ultrasound, “but these are very far from being dangerous.” For this reason, he added, Doppler ultrasounds are not recommended in the first trimester of pregnancy, only as a precaution.

Miloro also noted that animal experiments showing damage from Doppler heating are not representative of effects in humans. “Animal studies cannot be used as evidence as the ultrasound effects cannot be scaled and a small animal will suffer from much greater effects than human babies,” he said.

Anna McCormick, an OBGYN at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago told Reuters in an email that ultrasounds can actually “contribute to reducing maternal and neonatal mortality by helping to identify pregnancy complications and monitor the fetus’ development.” She added that numerous studies over the years have found ultrasounds are safe and, even though the “Doppler ultrasound may involve higher thermal levels when used in certain ways, it is important to point out that there have not been human studies to date that link thermal generation by ultrasound as harmful to the fetus.”

Annie Packard, a radiologist and specialist in women’s imaging at Mayo Clinic, also told Reuters that there is no scientific evidence to prove that ultrasounds, when done correctly, pose a risk to fetuses. “There have been no reports of documented adverse fetal effects for diagnostic ultrasonography procedures, including duplex Doppler imaging,” she said via email.

A comprehensive 2015 Cochrane Library evidence review that analyzed data from 14,185 women found that the use of Doppler ultrasound in normal pregnancies had no effect on rates of perinatal death, cesarean sections or neonatal intensive care admissions (here).

Miloro pointed to further scientific studies that prove ultrasounds are safe (here), (here),

An International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology–World Health Organization study that reviewed data from 61 publications to find that diagnostic ultrasound during pregnancy is safe can be seen (here).

VERDICT

No evidence. Studies of ultrasounds used in human pregnancies have not found evidence of danger to the health of babies or mothers.