is it safe to have Ultrasound tests too many times during pregnancy?

Question

I am in my 16th week of pregnancy. I had some complications during the early 4th month, so I had abdominal ultrasound already 5 times till now.
I heard from some friends that having ultrasound too many times is not good for the baby due to some rays being passed. Is this true ? any one who has correct information please share. In general how many times do they do ultrasound through out the pregnancy ?

Answer 1

Nothing to worry about!! The rays are not rays, but sound waves bouncing back off the baby and everythng else and forming a picture on the screen, just like sonar in the water with submarines or even dopplar radar on the weather! Relax and enjoy being pregnant as much as you possibly can with your complications. Good luck!!

Answer 2

I had the same question, because here in Mexico, they do ultrasounds every time you go...I thought oh that is cool! But then I talked with my friend who is an Intern and she said that there are harmful rays that can effect the baby. That one or two ultrasounds are ok, but that having a lot can do damage. There is a name and everything for it, but I can't for the life of me remember it, Sorry. If I find it, I will edit my answer and include it in. She said to deny any (I've had two already and I am 12 weeks) more ultrasounds until the end of the second trimester. She said it would be ok to have another one then just to make sure everything is ok...but not to get any inbetween. Good Luck and I hope everything turns out well for you and your baby! Best Wishes!

Answer 3

I think that it is safe to have a lot of ultrasounds. The doctors do this because there is a need for it. I was a high risk pregnancy with all of my kids but my oldest child was the worst. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, I was leaving fluid from the placenta and they had no idea where, she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her throat, and the day I was supposed to get induced she decided to turn and was feet first. The end result was fine, she came out okay and the only issue there was, was that she had a temperature but otherwise perfectly healthy. Because of this high risk pregnancy, I had ultrasounds very regularly.

If you have any concerns at all, ask your obgyn, that's what they're there for, to answer any and all of you questions and concerns. Congrats on the pregnancy and good luck to you and the little bundle!

Answer 4

There hasn't been good research in this area, partly because if you think it might be bad, then it would be unethical to ask pregnant women to have more ultrasounds just to test that theory.

If you have a high-risk pregnancy or there is something that the docs see about the baby that they want to keep monitoring, you might have ultrasounds every week.

For normal pregnancies, you might only get 2 or 3, maybe even fewer.

I think I had about 10, mostly in the first trimester (I got pregnant through IUI, so they checked often to make sure it was going well).

Answer 5

Generally they do an u/s once or twice during a normal pregnancy..However if there are problems more may be done. I have heard there are risks for having an u/s done, whether that is true or not I don't know, but the risk of having something wrong with your baby and not being able to find out is definately more. During my last two pregnancies I had problems and had atleast 4 u/s with each and had no problems.
Best Wishes to you and your baby!

Answer 6

And ultra sound is low frequency (lower than we can hear) sound waves immited by a device that bounce off the solids inside our bodies, and are transmitted back to the same device and shown on a screen as a picture.

These sounds are not harmful, they do not shed any kind of "ray", they dont rupture ear drums, and the certainly dont cause brain cells to die.

Ultrasound is the same concept as radar, sound waves bouncing off things and viewed on a screen as pictures.

The device is not held against the body of the fetus, or against the head, these are things that a lot of women are concerned about.

There is absolutely no evidence in all the extensive studies done, to even suggest ultrasounds damage a growing baby. These machines are designed especially for this use, and every precaution is taken to make sure theyre safe.

There is nothing more sensitive a subject than that of the unborn.

Dont worry about it. You can ask your doctor about it also, he/she willbe able to comfort you.

Answer 7

I trust my doctor. I am high risk, 11 weeks and have already had 3 ultrasounds. I know for a fact that I have 2 more scheduled. One at 17 weeks to check the blood flow to the baby and the big one at 20-22 weeks. And even after that point they may do more. If the doctor thought it wasn't worth the risk, he wouldn't do it.

Answer 8

There really is no research that shows that there is any danger to the baby from an ultrasound.
I have had 2 ultrasounds during my pregnancy. If you have complications its safer to have the ultrasounds and keep tabs on things then not in my opinion.

Answer 9

Ultrasounds aren't like normal x-rays. I was living in Germany when I had both my children, and went to a german doctor throughout both pregnancy's. I had an ultrasound every month until the last 6 weeks when I had them every 2 weeks, and no harm at all was done to my children. It was very comforting and wonderful for me to see my children growing every month and know they were doing good in there.

Answer 10

Ultrasounds will not harm the baby. I had ultrasounds every 2 weeks from the time I was 14 weeks pregnant til I was 26 weeks pregnant. I then had them weekly from the time I was 27 weeks til I delivered at 35 weeks 5 days. I was very high risk due to my incomplete and dynamic cervix. My son is perfectly fine if you are actually concered asked your Dr and he will put all superstitions to rest and ease your mind.