Many sistas know the dangers associated with ultrasounds (see articles below) but being raised in western culture have a natural affinity towards and are comforted by these types of operations.
What are some alternative options for sistas who feel that they need a medical professional to perform an ultrasound on them to gain insight into the condition of their child/pregnancy?
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Ultrasound Scans Linked to Brain Damage in Babies
http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/oppression-Kmtyws-through-medisin-nutricide-biological-chemical-warfare/34739-ultrasound-scans-linked-brain-damage-babies.html (http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/oppression-Kmtyws-through-medisin-nutricide-biological-chemical-warfare/34739-ultrasound-scans-linked-brain-damage-babies.html)
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Problems With Sound and Heat
Caroline Rodgers
One challenge that ultrasound operators face is keeping the transducer positioned over the part of the fetus the operator is trying to visualize. When fetuses move away from the stream of high-frequency sound waves, they may be feeling vibrations, heat or both. As the FDA warned in 2004, "ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effect in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature."(9) This is consistent with research conducted in 2001 in which an ultrasound transducer aimed directly at a miniature hydrophone placed in a woman's uterus recorded sound "as loud as a subway train coming into the station."(10)
A rise in temperature of fetal tissue—especially since the expectant mother cannot even feel it—might not seem alarming, but temperature increases can cause significant damage to a developing fetus's central nervous system, according to research.(11) Across mammalian species, elevated maternal or fetal body temperatures have been shown to result in birth defects in offspring.(12) An extensive review of literature on maternal hyperthermia in a range of mammals found that "central nervous system (CNS) defects appear to be the most common consequence of hyperthermia in all species, and cell death or delay in proliferation of neuroblasts [embryonic cells that develop into nerve cells] is believed to be one major explanation for these effects."(13)
Why should neurodevelopmental defects in rats or other mammals be of concern to expecting women? Because, as Cornell University researchers proved in 2001, brain development proceeds in the same manner "across many mammalian species, including human infants."(14) The team found "95 neural developmental milestones" that helped them pinpoint the sequence of brain growth events in different species.(15) Therefore, if repeated experiments show that elevated heat caused by ultrasound damages fetal brains in rats and other mammals, one can logically assume that it can harm human brains, too.
In fact, the FDA and professional medical associations know that prenatal ultrasound can be dangerous to humans, which is why they have consistently warned against the non-medical or "keepsake" ultrasound portrait studios that have cropped up in malls throughout the country.(16)
The risks to the baby are potentially higher in commercial enterprises due to the higher acoustic output required for high-definition images, a potentially long session—as technicians hunt for suitable images—and the employment of ultrasound operators who may have no medical background or appropriate training. These variables, along with factors such as cavitation (a bubbling effect caused by ultrasound that can damage cells) and on-screen safety indicators that may be inaccurate by a factor ranging from 2–6 (17), make the impact of ultrasound uncertain even in expert hands. Quite simply, if ultrasound can injure babies, it can cause the same damage whether done for routine, diagnostic or "entertainment" purposes.
Questions about Prenatal Ultrasound and the Alarming Increase in Autism - by Caroline Rodgers (http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundrodgers.asp)
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Update on Safety of Diagnostic Ultrasonography
DL Miller
Abstract
Safety considerations for diagnostic ultrasonography have gradually changed as new instruments, not only more powerful in performance but also in ultrasonic exposure, have come into use. Nonthermal cavitational bioeffects of ultrasound have a problematic role in risk assessment for clinical applications, but should serve as cautionary reminders that there potentially could be low-level risks. Recent analyses have indicated possible areas of concern related to the thermal mechanism of bioeffects, particularly if trends for higher intensities continue into the future. The most critical area of concern is in fetal examinations, for which developing bone is unavoidably heated by relatively powerful pulsed-Doppler beams. Fortunately, because of the threshold nature of thermal damage, development of flexible, use-driven upper limits on output should completely resolve this impending safety problem. The ultrasonics community is now responding to these evolving safety issues with improved instrument characterization standards, new bioeffects research, and initiatives in continuing education for sonographers.
Miller DL. Update in Safety of Diagnostic Ultrasonography. J Clin Ultrasound 1991;19:531-540.
Great info!
---------- Post added at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 AM ----------
It was originally assumed that X-rays were harmless. Are we assuming that MRI is also harmless?
It is one of the main reasons why I'm tightening up my diet on an extreme level, for prevention. So I won't be confronted with these options that in the back and front of mind I know can cause other issues.