Does Regular Ultrasound Scans Harm The Body?

 

There have been no proofs in the UK till now that a regular fetal health scan can harm the body, if used as per the guidelines. Fetal well being scan have been used for decades in pregnancy in Reading, London, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester and other places in England. Although the sonographers follow the right guidelines to make sure that both the mums-to-be & their unborn babies are safe while conducting the scans, the ultrasound scan needs to be done only be a skilled and trained person and as per the set medical parameters.

Sometimes more ultrasound scans than usual are done – are they safe?

In fact, a mum-to-be can get five ultrasound scans done even if there is no complication in her pregnancy. A doctor may only recommend more scans than what’s normal if it’s a high-risk pregnancy or if the unborn baby needs a close follow-up. The extra fetal health scans in these cases help the doctor monitor the pregnancy as well as the wellbeing of the baby more closely. But these extra scans are not going to be harmful; rather they will let the doctor gather more accurate information about the pregnancy & the growth of the unborn baby.

Does the way the ultrasound works affect the unborn baby in any way?

No, ultrasound scans are quite safe for an unborn baby. There is no radiation like X-rays or CT scans in ultrasound scans. Sound waves are being sent through the uterus that bounces off the body of the baby to transform into an image on the screen allowing the sonographer to see the position of the baby and his/her movements. The ultrasound probe that’s used produces very little heat (less than even a degree C) – this heat is absorbed by the body part, which is scanned. According to scientists this little heat is not going to cause any harm – it will only be harmful if the temperature of the tissues that are being scanned increase by 4 degrees C, which is in fact never going to happen in regular 2D, 3D or 4D ultrasound scans.

Moreover, the baby inside the womb floats in an amniotic fluid. This fluid distributes any kind of heat generated letting no part of the baby’s body to get exposed to heat. The baby is even moving and that too helps to distribute the heat in an even manner.

However, other than early pregnancy ultrasound it is never recommended to get extra scans done privately just for a video or image of the baby. Ask for an image when doing any of the regular routine NHS scans.