The definition of Informed consent is: consent by a patient to undergo a medical or surgical treatment or to participate in an experiment after the patient understands the risks involved. Therefore, when a person is fully informed of the benefits, risks, and alternatives of a certain procedure, they will choose to consent or not consent. Among the plethora of unnecessary medical routines, there is one common procedure that raises concern due to it’s over-use and lack of understanding when it comes to overall health risk. This technological procedure we know as ultrasound.
It’s shockingly overused.
I have been apprenticing under a licensed midwife with 30+ years of experience, for close to two years. During this experience, I’ve been surprised by how most women, even those who choose home birth under midwifery care, still choose to have at least one ultrasound during their pregnancy.
Clearly, it seems that informed consent is lacking for this procedure. Mothers innately will do what’s best for their baby. Therefore, if mothers are fully informed about the potential risks of ultrasound and Doppler exposure, it’s safe to assume less women would opt-in for it.
Trust your intuition.
Before fully moving forward with today’s topic of ultrasound and it’s potentially harmful impact, I would like you to take a moment. Tap into your inner voice, your inner wisdom, divine guidance…and remain open to the truth which is inside of you. Truth which is ready to be revealed when you are ready. I am asking you to do this, because we live in the age of information. It is easy to become over stimulated and overwhelmed with the bombardment of information, fact and opinion. We often forget that the truth does lie in each of us, and we need to be reminded to feel, to know, and to trust that.
The answer is within you…
Women have a heightened intuition during pregnancy. This was my personal experience when it came to a number of situations during my first pregnancy. I can reminisce about when I was faced with making certain decisions and how I intuitively knew one way or the other. Knowing what I know now about certain procedures, I am reassured at the power of intuition. We must choose to listen! One example I can share from personal experience has to do with ultrasounds. I was hesitant towards the use of Doppler during my pregnancy and had a natural aversion to ultrasound. Back then, I didn’t know the “facts” about these harmful technologies as I do now. However, I am endlessly grateful for receiving that inner guidance and avoiding unnecessary exposure to myself and my unborn baby. The point I would like to place emphasis on, is that pregnancy is a time for deep reflection and deep connection. Pregnancy is not a time for technological experiments to take place. Ask yourself what it is that you and baby need to thrive together. Is an ultrasound scan something that you will both benefit from?
What is ultrasound?
Ultrasound is a powerful technology which was first developed during the second World War. It was used to detect enemy submarines. Soon after, this technology was used to experiment on tumors (which had been removed from patients) and other tissues. It was found that different tissues gave different patterns of sound (Note: everything has frequency/vibration.) This led to the idea of using this technology to look into the world of a growing, unborn, baby. Though this technology spread rapidly into clinical obstetrics, the long-term effects of it’s use are still to be learned. It has become standard for unborn babies to be subjected to his high-frequency sound wave, emitted by a transducer, which is typically used for diagnostic scanning. Today, ultrasound scans can serve a purpose when specific problems are suspected during pregnancy. Unfortunately, these scans are commonly used for less than diagnostic purposes.
Learn from the past.
Recently, I listened to a speech by a fellow birth activist, Gloria Lemay. She shared an interesting story that had to do with the the liberal application of X-ray. In short, x-rays were used in shoe stores to accurately measure feet. As time went on, leukemia sky-rocketed in the populations that received this type of radiation exposure. Now we are aware of the dangerous radiation that is emitted from x-ray. Presently, x-rays are typically used when we have major concern about an injury/physical complication. We should be so wise to learn from the past and exercise greater hesitancy when new technology is released to the public. We are the living human experiments.
Further research required.
With extensive and consistent, long-term studies, we will further discover the effects of ultrasound and Doppler exposure. Currently, what we do know is that these technologies do alter tissues of the human body. The high-frequency waves heat the tissues, while also causing small pockets of gas, which exist in our tissue, to vibrate and collapse. This process is called cavitation, which can potentially cause toxic effects in the body. It has been found through these studies that ultrasound can affect the cell membrane, cell migration, as well as affecting the myelin sheath. These are major physiological effects, changing cellular and neurological processes, which will likely impact the development of the exposed child. There is some speculation that these cellular changes will be carried on and impact future generations.
In conclusion…
Further more, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine concludes:
“There exists abundant peer-reviewed publishes scientific research that clearly and convincingly documents that ultrasound at commercial diagnostic levels can produce lung damage and focal hemorrhage in a variety of mammalian species…The degree to which this is a clinically significant problem in humans is not known.”
Lastly, UK radiologist H.B.Meire has been quoted:
“The casual observer might be forgiven for wondering why the medical profession is now involved in the wholesale examination of pregnant patients with machines emanating vastly different powers of energy which is not proven to be harmless to obtain information which is not proven to be of any clinical value by operators who are not certified as competent to perform the operations.”
Opt out.
We can make a positive change for future generations by opting out of ultrasound.
Let us take back our pregnancy and birth experience. ❤️
