Souvenir Scan Danger ; Parents Are Told to Avoid Unnecessary Ultrasounds

By JENNY HOPE

MAKING keepsake ultrasound scans of the unborn child could put babies at risk, doctors have warned. Mothers-to-be are routinely offered 2D ultrasound pictures by hospitals and clinics from scans taken for medical reasons.

But some parents also choose to have advanced 3D scans, digitally enhanced to create a life- like picture, or 4D scans showing the foetus moving. These are available on CD-ROM or DVD for up to Pounds 400.

However, several medical bodies have reservations about the ‘casual exposure’ of unborn babies to ultrasound during these extra scans, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.

‘Beyond spreading a little happiness, the case for non-medical imaging relies principally on bonding: The sense of attachment between a mother and her unborn child,’ he report said. ‘The evidence that ultrasound images can foster this comes from 2D scans.

‘But there is no evidence that 3D scans are more effective in enhancing maternal foetal attachment.’ The British Medical Ultrasound Society does not have a specific policy on non-medical imaging, but is updating its guidance.

Dr Paul Sidhu, chairman of the society’s scientific and education committee, described an ‘overall sense of disapproval’ among his colleagues for the development.

Groups including the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the French Academy of Medicine, have expressed their reservations.

The FDA said: ‘Although there is no evidence that these physical effects can harm the foetus, public health experts, clinicians and industry agree that casual exposure to ultrasound, especially during pregnancy-should be avoided.’ More than 20 privately-run clinics offer appointments for keepsake scans. Scanning service Babyview, in Yorkshire, said: ‘During the 30 years or so since the introduction of ultrasound in obstetrics it has not been proven to cause harm.’ j.hope@dailymail.co.uk

BORN weighing 14lb 8oz, no wonder they’re calling him Super Tonio.

Baby Antonio pictured next to an average-sized infant drinks 5oz of milk every three hours and is already a whopping 22in long.

He was delivered on Monday by Caesarean section at a maternity hospital in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

His mother, Teresa Alejandra Cruz, 23, gave birth to a girl weighing 11lb 7oz girl seven years ago.

According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest baby was a 22lb 8oz boy born to an Italian mother in 1955.

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