We all love to see our babies growing in our tummies, hearing their heart beat, being told that our babies are growing normal – in line with excepted measurements for their gastation (age/weeks). Some of us like to learn what gender our babies are so we can then name our babies, go shopping for little cute outfits, know what colour pushchair to buy or how to design our babies room/nursery. We like to be reassured all is well and get that cute scan photo/video to share with our families and friends. We like to know that it’s not a dream and even though we have all the symptoms and/or test to prove that we are pregnant, that first ultrasound scan just confirms it, just makes it all real. Some of us even try all we can to get an extra scan if possible due to not learning the gender or getting a good photo because our baby wasn’t interested and hid from the ultrasound probe.
If you was told that with every ultrasound scan, you was causing harm to your foetus – your beautiful baby, would you still have the routine scans you’re offered in your pregnancy, would you get extra scans, would you still go that step further to have a high-power 4D scan so you can see your babies sweet face more clearly or to know all is well.
I understand that mothers who may be classed as high risk in their pregnancy or have experienced a loss may benefit from these scans physically or/and emotionally but are they informed about the pros and cons of having or not having an ultrasound scan to able mothers to make an informed choice.
As a Doula I support women to make informed choices and educate them with evidence based information about their pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. It is for me to support them with their concerns and give them direction if need be. When I first started up as a Doula I had a form which I offered to my clients to keep record of their babies ultrasounds. I believe that every mother should keep a record of all drugs and procedures she has throughout her maternity care as this information could be valuable to mother and child in the future.
You can deepen your knowledge about ultrasounds here: Ultrasound – The Mythology of a Safe and Painless Technology.