3D/4D foetus scans are safe, says clinic

AN Irish clinic offering parents-to-be keepsake 3-dimensional (3D) or 4-dimensional (4D) images of their unborn children has dismissed a new health warning that non-essential scanning may be harmful.

Clinical specialist at Ultrasound Dimensions, Monica Healy, said she was not worried about performing ultrasound scans for non-diagnostic purposes.

All the equipment used at the clinic was carefully checked and operated at the lowest frequency possible, insisted Ms Healy.

“If ultrasound is harmful to mothers and babies, our team of consultants and sonographers wouldn’t be using it, nor would any other hospital,” she said.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Britain has urged parents to “consider the uncertainties” when considering non-diagnostic scans.

While diagnostic ultrasound scans to check the baby’s health were entirely justifiable and safe, more research was needed to determine the long-term consequences.

There have been some unconfirmed reports suggesting possible neurological effects on the unborn child.

The agency pointed out that evidence surrounding commercial ultrasound use was too patchy to make a judgment.

HPA chief executive Justin McCracken said some uncertainties needed to be clarified through additional research.

Most maternity hospitals in Ireland usually perform a diagnostic scan at 12 weeks gestation and 20 weeks to check the anatomy of the unborn child.

Ms Healy, a diagnostic medical sonographer who has been involved in radiological and ultrasound imaging for more than 26 years, said that the three- and four-dimensional imaging used at the clinic used the same frequency as general ultrasound.

“The imaging is not just for entertainment – it’s a bonding experience for families, especially husbands.”

The clinic recommends that the 3D/4D scan be performed between 22 and 37 weeks gestation and following a diagnostic scan.

It says that “the scanner generates life-like moving images of the baby in the womb and that it can “determine the gender of the baby with an accuracy of about 98%”.

An initial 2D ultrasound scan to check the baby’s position and heartbeat is also performed.

Ms Healy said her own experience had given her no cause for concern.

“On a personal note, I have given birth to six children all currently, healthy adults and all whom have been exposed to ultrasound during their gestation with no current known adverse effects,” she said.