Ultrasound is the use of high frequency sound waves to produce either still or moving images of various structures with the body. The sound waves are above the frequency of those audible to the human ear. They are produced by the electrical stimulation of a piezoelectric crystal and as the waves travel through the body, they are reflected back at any time when there is a change in tissue density, as, for example, at the border of two different organs of the body. The various echoes are received by an apparatus that measures the intensity level of the echoes and displays the resulting image on a screen.

Ultrasound is commonly used to display images of foetuses during pregnancy to determine size, position and any abnormalities that might be observable. It is, however, an invasive procedure and there are risks, although minimal, compared with radiography (X Rays).

For some years now, there have been warnings about ultrasound and possible damage to the developing foetus. I remember research that came from the Albert Einstein Hospital in the US many years ago that raised an alarm. The American FDA point out that “ultrasound energy delivered to the foetus cannot be regarded as completely innocuous. Laboratory studies have shown that diagnostic levels of ultrasound can produce physical effects in tissue, such as mechanical vibrations and rise in temperature”.

A warning reported by Robert Matthews, Science correspondent for the Telegraph in London says,

“Evidence suggesting that ultrasound scans on pregnant women cause brain damage in their unborn babies has been uncovered by scientists. In the most comprehensive study yet on the effect of the scanning, doctors have found that men born to mothers who underwent scanning were more likely to show signs of subtle brain damage.”

The results of the Swedish study were published in the Journal “Epidemiology” and revealed that,

“almost 7,000 men whose mothers underwent scanning in the 1970s were compared with 170,000 men whose mothers did not. The researchers were looking for differences in the rates of left- and right-handedness. The team found that men whose mothers had scans were significantly more likely to be left-handed than normal, pointing to a higher rate of brain damage while in the womb. Crucially, the biggest difference was found among those born after 1975, when doctors introduced a second scan later in pregnancy. Such men were 32 per cent more likely to be left-handed than those in the control group.”

The point about the report that I found particularly confusing was, “Other doctors and scientists caution that until further studies are carried out, scanning should still be regarded as safe by mothers-to-be. If confirmed, however, the findings would mean that ultrasound scans are causing slight brain damage in thousands of babies in Britain each year”.

It is reported that, Beverley Beech, the chairman of the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services, criticised doctors for insisting for years that ultrasound was totally safe. “I am not sure at all that the benefits of ultrasound scans outweigh the downsides,” said Ms Beech. “We should be advising women to think very, very carefully before they have scans at all.”

I would think it obvious that until the problem is elucidated and women can be confidently reassured that ultrasound scans are safe, they should be officially warned of possible dangers to their developing foetus.