Tip Tuesday: The Love Of A Mother--Are Ultrasounds Really Safe?

No one questions that mothers love their children. No one questions that expecting mothers can't wait for their ultrasound date. The chance to peek into your own uterus and see your growing child? It's magical.

But it's also not proven to be entirely safe. I do a lot of reading...maybe too much. But when it comes to my kids, there's no such thing as keeping them too safe. When I was expecting my first child, I read and read and read...and I haven't stopped. But 6 years ago I read about the dangers of ultrasounds. That's when I decided that ONLY medically necessary ultrasounds would be the route we would go.

With our first son, the ultrasound showed that he might have an issue with his kidneys. The doctors wanted to be prepared in case something was wrong, that they'd be able to do kidney surgery on him right after birth. They scheduled a second ultrasound ten weeks later (32 weeks) and discovered the kidneys were totally healthy. When he was almost two weeks overdue, he failed the "kick counts" and the doctor told me to leave work and rush to an ultrasound. He was fine, just running out of room. So my first pregnancy I had three ultrasounds. Not what I had intended.

Every pregnancy there after, we've only had one ultrasound per child. No additional ultrasounds were necessary. This baby (yes, #4) we will probably have two ultrasounds. Why two? Well, we already had one (unintentionally) because the Doctors were looking for what we all thought was a ruptured cyst...turns out, it was a hemorrhage...and a baby. I will have one more ultrasound (around the "normal" 20ish weeks) to make sure everything is growing, that the placenta has attached as it should (a danger because of the hemorrhage/high risk pregnancy) and maybe, if baby cooperates, to see the gender.

And that's it. No extra ultrasounds. No "fun" pictures. Why? It's not safe. It's not necessary. And it could be harming the baby. Did you know that ultrasounds destroy sperm? They actually use it as a form of temporary sterilization. What makes it safe for a baby?

I've also heard the "it's my body and I can do what I want." Interesting. This is the same argument that pro-choice people use. But it's not just your body. It's affecting the baby as well.

According to WebMD, some parents are opting for a 4-D scan. "Some facilities are providing this scan at the parents' request without a specific medical indication. A moving picture interpretation is referred to as a 4-D ultrasound. According to the March of Dimes, the FDA, as well as many other experts, the use of these non-medical ultrasounds is discouraged since untrained personnel may provide inaccurate or harmful information."

No, thanks. I'm going to take the word of the FDA, the March of Dimes and the safety of my child over my want to see the baby.

My friend, fellow Conservative blogger and Doctor wrote an article about this subject. She says, "My son, and his twin who died, both hated the ultrasound. It seemed to cause them physical pain from what I observed. They became agitated. It is known that the amniotic fluid warms up at least a degree from the ultrasound."

Again, no one questions the love a mother has for her child. If every mother knew of the dangers and read more about all of their options, maybe they would put the safety of their child ahead of their want.

You'll see and hold your baby soon enough...let them be safe in the safest place in the world. Your womb. Don't open them up to unnecessary dangers.

Edit: Upon further research, I discovered that the Ethics Committee within the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has discouraged the use of non-medical ultrasounds during pregnancy. You can read their opinion here.

Toy Thursday: Toy Packaging!

Did anyone notice over Christmas all the packaging used for the toys this year? Judah and I opened up his ink pad set today to use for the first time since Christmas and it reminded me of all the Christmas packaging. I had to use the scissors to open the cardboard first. Then I had to use the scissors to open the second layer of plastic around the ink pads. A huge feat for just three ink pads.

This year it seemed like the toys had more packaging than usual, making for extra waste. For instance, everything seemed doubly wrapped. Sometimes you even find marketers use a huge box to display a large, bright, colorful picture just for relatively small toy in comparison. What a waste to our environment as this cardboard serves little purpose and then gets thrown out after the item is opened. And I am sure we are paying for the added marketing expense too.

Then the packaging companies used for toys this year seemed more excessively annoying especially when the kid was in a hurry to open the gift. Those plastic twisty ties take forever to unwrap while the kid just stands there jumping up and down in excitement. Some items have that plastic cover cinched so tight you cannot even rip it open. And this year we even had some toys screwed in which required extra time hunting down a screwdriver in addition to the scissors.

Finally the packaging becomes so unsafe. You have to make sure you gather ever last bit of plastic or twisty ties and tiny screws before the kids pick them up. You have to use extra caution for even the tools you need just to open the item like scissors. You would think that the companies could at least make the toy packaging safe for kids.

For this post I ask the toy companies to think twice about the packaging they use for toys. Be less wasteful and more environmental friendly. Also, keep in mind the safety and the age of the child when packing a toy. Just so you know toy companies, all this hassle makes me not want to even purchase from you. Just saying.