Commercial Ultrasounds

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against getting ultrasounds at commercial facilities, saying they may pose a risk to the fetus and mother. These centers, which operate without medical guidelines and often without physician supervision, offer "keepsake" pictures and videos for parents-to-be and are proliferating in shopping malls around the country. Their high-intensity machines provide a much clearer image of the fetus's body parts and facial features than standard physician machines, which use lower power. The FDA emphasizes that because the long-term health effects of such ultrasound exposure are unknown, any non-medical use is unwarranted.

Copyright © 2004. Reprinted with permission from the August 2004 issue of Child magazine.

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