3D ultrasound

Has anyone had one of these? What was your experience like? I'm guessing
different companies give different services and quality, but I'm just
generally curious. I have mine scheduled for Thursday... so we're finally
going to know the sex for sure!

Kim

Special K! wrote:
Has anyone had one of these? What was your experience like? I'm guessing
different companies give different services and quality, but I'm just
generally curious. I have mine scheduled for Thursday... so we're finally
going to know the sex for sure!

Don't get your hopes up too high. There are times
when baby refuses to give up the goods. Most likely they'll
be able to tell, but there aren't any guarantees.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Don't get your hopes up too high. There are times
when baby refuses to give up the goods. Most likely they'll
be able to tell, but there aren't any guarantees.

I asked about that since baby didn't cooperate at the 17 week ultrasound.
The tech was kind of leaning towards girl, but wasn't ready to commit based
on the pictures she was able to get. The place I'm going to said that if
they're not able to find out at the appointment, they'll let me come back
for a free session another day to find out.

She told me to drink a milkshake before I go in. She said the sugar and
cold will make the baby more active. I've heard of eating a candy bar or
drinking a soda, but that was a new one to me.

Kim

Special K! wrote:
Don't get your hopes up too high. There are times
when baby refuses to give up the goods. Most likely they'll
be able to tell, but there aren't any guarantees.

I asked about that since baby didn't cooperate at the 17 week ultrasound.
The tech was kind of leaning towards girl, but wasn't ready to commit based
on the pictures she was able to get. The place I'm going to said that if
they're not able to find out at the appointment, they'll let me come back
for a free session another day to find out.

She told me to drink a milkshake before I go in. She said the sugar and
cold will make the baby more active. I've heard of eating a candy bar or
drinking a soda, but that was a new one to me.

Is this an u/s from your doctor, or one you've
scheduled at a commercial u/s shop? If the latter, you
may or may not care that these shops are somewhat controversial.
The FDA has taken a position against them (and believes
them to be illegal and unwise):

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/104_images.html

When it comes to routine (non-medically indicated) ultrasound
in general, the ACOG's position is that ultrasound should
never be used except for specific medical indication. The
American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine says that non-
medical use of ultrasound in pregnancy is contrary to
responsible medical practice. The concern is that while
it's clear that u/s is fairly low risk, it is not possible
or accurate to say that it is completely without risk.
In vitro studies have shown that ultrasound waves can cause
vibration and elevate temperature in the fetus. Studies
have shown that fetuses move away from the u/s waves (and
clearly perceive them) and there have now been a few studies
showing a statistically significant increase in left-
handedness in boys exposed to prenatal ultrasound. Obviously,
left-handedness is not something to be particularly worried
about, but the concern is that if u/s can affect handedness
by some as yet unknown means, what else might it be able to
affect that we haven't yet thought to check?
Now, no one makes the argument that one should
hesitate to use u/s when it is needed to provide information
that will guide clinical decision making. Some professionals
have no problem with liberal use of u/s, but the majority of
professional organizations have come down against the use
of routine u/s and virtually all have come down against the
use of non-medical u/s for safety reasons and the difficulties
stemming from false positives or issues with insufficiently
trained operators. Note also that there is a *huge* variation
in the amount of u/s radiation you're exposed to depending
on the machines used, the type of scan, the length of the
scan, and how the machine has been maintained--and there aren't
any regulatory bodies monitoring the equipment used in
commercial u/s shops.
Obviously, many people choose to go with the
commercial shops, and many people choose to have unnecessary
u/s. It all depends on what you're comfortable with. If
any of this seems concerning to you, you might want to do
some more looking into the research so that you can feel
comfortable with the safety aspect whichever way you choose.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Coffee always worked for Xavier :P The one day I forgot to drink coffee on
the way he slept through the appointment and they made me walk arround and
wake him up.. I never had the 3d thing though.

Tori
"Special K!" wrote in message
news:R8kog.100161$iF6.88424@pd7tw2no...

Don't get your hopes up too high. There are times
when baby refuses to give up the goods. Most likely they'll
be able to tell, but there aren't any guarantees.

I asked about that since baby didn't cooperate at the 17 week ultrasound.
The tech was kind of leaning towards girl, but wasn't ready to commit
based on the pictures she was able to get. The place I'm going to said
that if they're not able to find out at the appointment, they'll let me
come back for a free session another day to find out.

She told me to drink a milkshake before I go in. She said the sugar and
cold will make the baby more active. I've heard of eating a candy bar or
drinking a soda, but that was a new one to me.

Kim

clearly perceive them) and there have now been a few studies
showing a statistically significant increase in left-
handedness in boys exposed to prenatal ultrasound. Obviously,
left-handedness is not something to be particularly worried
about, but the concern is that if u/s can affect handedness
by some as yet unknown means, what else might it be able to
affect that we haven't yet thought to check?

Hmmm Xavier is left handed :-/ I had more ultrasounds with him then with
bonnie and I think I had 8 with her.

Tori

Is this an u/s from your doctor, or one you've
scheduled at a commercial u/s shop? If the latter, you
may or may not care that these shops are somewhat controversial.
The FDA has taken a position against them (and believes
them to be illegal and unwise):

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/104_images.html

Thanks for the info, Ericka. I found the company at www.uc-baby.com. I went
and read the article you posted and went back and re-read the ultrasound
company website. Under FAQ it states:

Is there any risk of 3D or 4D ultrasound?
No. 3D ultrasound uses sound waves to create images the same as in 2D
ultrasound. Since the beginning of ultrasound applications in pregnancy in
the 1950's there has been no reported short or long term risk to unborn
babies. Indeed, routine ultrasound exam in pregnancy is accepted all over
the world today.

This is contrary to the FDA article, I know. The website does state that
all techs are registered and certified. I guess I'll just have to ask some
questions about the machines when I get there and go from there.

Thanks,
Kim

Hmmm Xavier is left handed :-/ I had more ultrasounds with him then with
bonnie and I think I had 8 with her.

Wow, why so many? I've only had one during this pregnancy and the doctor
told me I'd be unlikely to have another one as it's not standard procedure
to do more than one unless medically necessary, which it isn't at this
point. We've had a whole lot of stress during the pregnancy in all aspects
of our lives and we just want to find out the sex so we have something to
hold onto I guess.

Special K! wrote:
Is this an u/s from your doctor, or one you've
scheduled at a commercial u/s shop? If the latter, you
may or may not care that these shops are somewhat controversial.
The FDA has taken a position against them (and believes
them to be illegal and unwise):

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/104_images.html

Thanks for the info, Ericka. I found the company at www.uc-baby.com. I went
and read the article you posted and went back and re-read the ultrasound
company website. Under FAQ it states:

Is there any risk of 3D or 4D ultrasound?
No. 3D ultrasound uses sound waves to create images the same as in 2D
ultrasound. Since the beginning of ultrasound applications in pregnancy in
the 1950's there has been no reported short or long term risk to unborn
babies. Indeed, routine ultrasound exam in pregnancy is accepted all over
the world today.

This is just flat out false. Google PubMed and you can
search the medical literature for the actual studies. It's a
challenging area to look into, as there's bias on both sides
to some degree, but no reputable scientist would claim
that there is no risk to u/s. For one thing, it's impossible
to prove a technology to be perfectly safe. You can only
show that *particular* risks that you investigate using
appropriately designed studies are statistically unlikely
to happen. And, there have been studies that have shown
some risks. Now, it's a journey to slog through the stuff
and figure out where you think the best evidence lies.
Certainly, upon replication some of the risks shown in
some studies haven't held up. On the other hand, the
handedness issue has been holding up, and there just aren't
as many studies as one would like. For one thing, u/s is
so ubiquitous these days that it's hard to find an
unexposed control group.

This is contrary to the FDA article, I know. The website does state that
all techs are registered and certified. I guess I'll just have to ask some
questions about the machines when I get there and go from there.

There are people who claim that u/s is perfectly
safe, even for recreational use. The bulk of professionals in
the field disagree, but obviously those who are selling
recreational u/s aren't going to take that stand. One might
argue that professionals are just protecting their financial
turf, but those who argue against routine u/s aren't just
recommendation avoiding recreational u/s. Most recommend
avoiding *any* medically unnecessary u/s, whether given by
a medical professional or not, so they're not just saying
that only they should be able to pocket the profit from
the unnecessary u/s.
I would be curious what body "registers and certifies"
the techs. Last I checked, the reputable bodies were not
supportive of recreational u/s and I would be surprised if
they were certifying techs who were doing recreational u/s.
There's been a *lot* of fuss over these, and a number of
businesses have been shut down in states where they've chosen
to use federal or state laws to declare them illegal.
There's a lot of information (founded and unfounded)
on both sides, so it isn't all that easy to figure out
which side has the better evidence. Ultimately, it all
boils down to what kind of risk/benefit tradeoffs you find
acceptable. I'm on the more conservative side, so I preferred
to go without any u/s except for specific medical indication
(which ended up being no u/s with two pregnancies and two
late term u/s for one pregnancy in conjunction with an
external version for a breech baby). Obviously, that puts
me in the minority in the US.
If you want to explore the other side of the issue,
here are a few popular sites:

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasound.asp
http://tinyurl.com/egkla
http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/wagner02.html
http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/article...ound-scans.htm
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001451.html

Again, those are just some starting points to look at and
evaluate, if you're interested. Not all of the above claims
are uncontested, so you have to weigh them against other
available evidence. They just express some of the concerns
and do a decent job of providing the basis for those concerns
so you can follow up on it and decide for yourself whether
you think it's a legitimate issue or not.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Special K!" wrote in message
news:Ufnog.102829$Mn5.51279@pd7tw3no...

Hmmm Xavier is left handed :-/ I had more ultrasounds with him then with
bonnie and I think I had 8 with her.

Wow, why so many? I've only had one during this pregnancy and the doctor
told me I'd be unlikely to have another one as it's not standard procedure
to do more than one unless medically necessary, which it isn't at this
point. We've had a whole lot of stress during the pregnancy in all
aspects of our lives and we just want to find out the sex so we have
something to hold onto I guess.
Bonnie was IUGR. With Xavier they just went all goofy and I had so many
future babies will be hard to be thrilled with any. The Lab Tech got me a
baby gift because she saw me so much.. lol I know I had at least 1 every
month and then 4 in the last month :P Jeff and I agreed we would go back to
her though because her overall care was great.. I just wish that goop they
used was good for your skin.. lol

Tori