FDA: Parents, say no to keepsake ultrasounds
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated their guidelines on keepsake ultrasounds this month, advising parents to avoid the lure of non-medical sonographic imaging known…
The FDA says keepsake ultrasounds are a bad idea. Even though they stopped short of saying they’re outright dangerous, their effects are still uncertain. (Shutterstock)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated their guidelines on keepsake ultrasounds this month, advising parents to avoid the lure of non-medical sonographic imaging known as “keepsake” ultrasounds. According to the agency, the effects of repeated and/or lengthy ultrasound exposures on a fetus have not been studied enough in-depth, and therefore parents should practice caution.
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“Although there is a lack of evidence of any harm due to ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors, prudent use of these devices by trained health care providers is important,” Shahram Vaezy, an FDA biomedical engineer, explained in the statement. “Ultrasound can heat tissues slightly, and in some cases, it can also produce very small bubbles (cavitation) in some tissues.”
Keepsake ultrasounds have become popular among many parents in the United States, especially among first-time parents who wish to share the pregnancy journey with friends and family. The wide-spread hobby of scrapbooking has also made keepsake ultrasounds a priority for mothers who intend on making their child a scrapbook of achievements and momentous life events. As medical knowledge about how children develop and are influenced in the womb evolves, however, experts are being more cautious about things–like ultrasounds–once taken for granted.
A number of national and international agencies have taken the same FDA stance on keepsake ultrasounds, including the European Committee for Medical Ultrasound, which states: “The embryonic period is known to be particularly sensitive to any external influences. Until further scientific information is available, investigations should be carried out with careful control of output levels and exposure times. With increasing mineralization of the fetal bone as the fetus develops, the possibility of heating fetal bone increases.”
Dopplers for listening to heartbeats are also cautioned against. (Shutterstock)
A negative impact from an ultrasound on a fetus?
To date, there is no evidence suggesting ultrasounds have any negative influence on a fetus, but those statistics are based on standard, necessary medical procedures, not vanity ultrasounds opted for by parents. Similarly, the FDA has issued caution in the over use of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors, which can be purchased over-the-counter in some areas of the country.
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“When the product is purchased over the counter and used without consultation with a health care professional taking care of the pregnant woman, there is no oversight of how the device is used. Also, there is little or no medical benefit expected from the exposure,” Vaezy said. “Furthermore, the number of sessions or the length of a session in scanning a fetus is uncontrolled, and that increases the potential for harm to the fetus and eventually the mother.”
There are currently several unnamed enterprises in the U.S. commercially offering keepsake ultrasounds, according to the FDA. Some of these facilities can prolong an unnecessary ultrasound for up to an hour attempting to obtain the best picture.
