USE ULTRASOUND ONLY IF NECESSARY

Thanks to Dr. Greggory DeVore for his letter condemning "ultrasound for entertainment." Women of childbearing age might be interested to know of a study recently published in The Lancet.

Women in a experimental group who had ultrasounds five times during their pregnancies were more likely to deliver low birth-weight babies than women in a control group who only had one ultrasound.Another concern in the medical community is that ultrasound might affect the ovaries of female fetuses. This question cannot be answered until the grandchildren of women who have had ultrasounds are born.

Of equal concern to me are routine ultrasounds ordered by physicians "just to make sure everything is OK," to verify due dates or to learn the sex of the baby. Many parents want this.

However, both the National Institutes of Health and The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommend against routine ultrasounds. Authors of five randomized controlled studies have concluded that routine ultrasound does not result in improved outcomes.

Certainly ultrasound can provide valuable information when there are medical indications, such as bleeding or suspected fetal growth abnormalities. However, I believe that pregnant parents should be informed about the risks and the cost to society of routine ultrasound, and that some physicians should adopt a more responsible attitude.

Megan Bakaitis, B.S., AAHCC

Certified childbirth educator, The Bradley Method

Provo