The Forgotten Dangers of Ultrasound. What no one tells you about having a healthy pregnancy. By A Midwestern Doctor (12/21/24)

This lengthy article reviews the body of literature on the risks and benefits of prenatal ultrasound (abbreviated as “US”), alternatives to prenatal US, strategies to help pregnant mothers (and male partners) ensure a healthy and vibrant child, and ways to prevent common pregnancy issues such as miscarriages, pregnancy back pain, swelling and preeclampsia.

Bottom line: Ultrasound is not as necessary, safe, or effective as the medical field has led us to believe.

ED NOTE 
We hope AMD will provide an abridged version of this article in the future, but for now, we’ve summarized key points and section headings below. 

Story at a Glance:

• The medical field has long exposed mothers to “treatments” that harm their infants.

• Routine x-raying of fetuses finally stopped after decades of research and opposition; however, prenatal ultrasound (US) was adopted in its place and marketed as “safe and effective.”

• Decades of research showed US can harm tissues.

• As the ultrasound industry took off, the harms were forgotten, and US research became almost impossible to conduct.

• Considerable evidence shows fetuses are particularly vulnerable to US.

• Experiments with US were conducted on mothers during China’s one-child policy era. The experiments showed US given before the abortions damaged fetal tissues.

• US harms are dose dependent.

• Studies on the dangers of US were conducted at levels far below the original threshold.

• In 1992, despite widespread concerns about safety of prenatal US, the FDA raised the permissible US levels 8-fold (and often more). This increase may have played a pivotal role in the outbreak of chronic childhood illnesses that occurred around this time.

• The benefits of prenatal US are often overstated, and can put mothers on unnecessary “treatment” plans that harm them and their infants.

Section Headings

• “Safe and Effective”

• The Medicalization of Childbirth

• EMFs and Childbirth

• Medical Imaging and Childbirth

• “Safe” Levels of Ultrasound

• The Aftermath

• Fetal Reactivity

• Fetal Demise

• Research on Ultrasound Dangers

  • Animal and Plant Studies

  • Cell Studies

  • Human Pregnancy Studies

  • Developmental Delay

  • Nerve, Eye, Ovary and Testicle Damage

  • Workplace Exposures

• The China Studies

  • Overviews

  • Chorionic Villus

  • Brain

  • Eyes

  • Immune Function

  • Kidney

  • Liver

  • Reproductive Organs

• Ultrasound Reviews

• Mechanisms of Harm

• Ultrasound Guidelines

• Is Ultrasound Effective?

• Healthy Children

  • Diagnostic Tests

  • Pregnancy Principles

  • Preparing for Pregnancy

  • Preventing Miscarriages

  • Common Pregnancy Issues

  • Pregnancy Nutrition

• Conclusion

Key Recommendations

1. US should be:

   1. Used only near the end of the pregnancy (to be better prepared for labor).

   2. Used only if signs of a more serious condition are present (e.g., vaginal bleeding).

   3. Not used at all.

2. Use Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT). NIPT is a simple blood draw that can sensitively and accurately detect common chromosomal disorders (e.g., Down Syndrome), the baby’s gender, and a few other things (e.g., a blood type incompatibility with the mother).

3. Pregnancy principles:

   1. Health prior to pregnancy will impact the health of the child. (Article offers specific suggestions.)

   2. Take the pregnancy seriously.

   3. Avoid stress or emotional toxicity during the pregnancy; these can imprint onto the child.

   4. During pregnancy, consider supplements (including progesterone hormones), nutrition, general and specific exercises, sunlight, manipulative treatments, and controlling your state of mind. (Article offers specific suggestions).

   5. Consider home births, which are cheaper, less stressful, and healthier for the mother and child. (Birthing will be discussed in an upcoming article.)