FDA warns against "keepsake" ultrasounds

There is no doubt that ultrasounds provide doctors with vital information about the condition of an unborn child.

As the images get clearer -- and three dimensional -- more and more women are getting optional "keepsake" ultrasounds. But while those images may be precious mementos, the FDA is waving warning flags, reports CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula.

At the Lakewood Center Mall in Southern California, there's a place called Meet Your Baby. It's where 26-year-old Donquesha Williams had an ultrasound performed.

"These are going to go in my photo album. I get to actually see him... so I'm excited and everything," Williams said.

Meet Your Baby is one of a growing trend of facilities offering 3-D fetal images of unborn children as keepsakes.

"We use the same machine as the doctor," owner Michael Horan said. "Our techs spend a little more time to get a more enjoyable session out of it."

But more time, and multiple visits, are part of what concerns the FDA and some doctors. While ultrasounds are considered safe, they are known to raise the temperature of exposed tissue, and can even create small bubbles known as cavitation.

"I know that they are exciting, but I don't think women should abuse the medical technology for their entertainment purposes," board-certified OBGYN Dr. Rebecca Brightman said.

According to a recent consumer update, the FDA says: "The long-term effects of tissue heating and cavitation are not known. Therefore, ultrasound scans should be done only when there is a medical need."

Regarding ultrasound machines, they said: "They are not intended for over-the-counter (OTC) sale or use, and the FDA strongly discourages their use for creating fetal keepsake images and videos."

Still, the appeal is obvious. 3-D ultrasounds give mothers-to-be an uncanny picture of their unborn child; a far cry from the original chalky, black-and-white, often hard to discern pictures produced by 2-D ultrasounds.

Another expectant mother, Felicia, said it gave her more of an emotional response.

"I felt emotionally connected in the 2-D, but I almost cried here," she said.

Evelyn Orozco, who owns 3-D-imaging services in New York City, said it's a bonding experience. She has three branch offices with plans for a fourth.

While she performs diagnostic ultrasounds for a variety of medical conditions, 3-D prenatal images are the big seller.

"All of a sudden, it's not a black and white: you see the features, you see a baby's face and the biggest thing here is the nose," Orozco said. "Everybody talks about the nose. 'Who's nose is that? Is it daddy's nose? Is it mommy's nose?"

Some worry it could provide women with a false sense of security.

"She may feel 'Oh, I've gone to the mall, I've gone to one of these outposts where I can have an ultrasound done and everything seems to be fine so I'm in great shape," Brightman said. "And on the other hand, a woman may go for a vanity ultrasound where they may detect an abnormality and there isn't a physician or a professional on site who can explain the abnormality that may have been detected at that point in time."

Orozco says she requires all of her clients to be under the care of an OBGYN.

"This doesn't replace anything that your doctor is sending you for," she said.

While she's had patients who come for the 3-D ultrasounds and ask for her advice, she's sure to not overstep her boundaries.

"Again, I'm not a doctor. The biggest thing I tell everybody is just make sure you drink plenty of water and, 'That's a great question for your doctor,'" she said.

At least one state, Connecticut, has banned the use of prenatal ultrasounds for any non-medical use. It is important to note that, used properly, under a doctor's care, ultrasounds are not dangerous and they are an important tool in prenatal care.
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deathsfuture 17 minutes ago

This article is total hogwash.  First, ultrasounds have been used in fetal medicine since the 1950's.  It is so mainstream that medical insurance pays for numerous tests per pregnancy without question.  It is essential for determining some things that are dangers to the fetus which could result in problems and even death.

I actually did a 3D ultrasound for my second child and it was great.  The technician was just as qualified or more-so than the normal hospital ultrasound technician.  I find it alarming that an article would attempt to worry people without one shred of evidence supplied in the text.  It used to be erroneous reporting to make claims without any functional basis behind them.  Even with "tissue heating," no study has shown that is detrimental in any way.  The the contrary, studies have found that it is beneficial to adults for healing purposes and has become a mainstream therapy for injuries in chiropractors and doctor offices across the US. 


My opinion is that this article should be filed in the fiction section of the FDA warehouse.  Total garbage.
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scottpatrick35 38 minutes ago

"Bring those unborn babies to us and for the right $$$ we will dispose of them." (Planned Parenthood)
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educatedtom 41 minutes ago

DONQUISHA!!!!!!!!!!
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MtnState 45 minutes ago

I don't get it.  Every medical office I've heard of gives the mother a copy or two of her ultrasound.  So why would a mother even need to think about going to some "Glamor Shots" for babies place to get one?
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bethanyrae 2 hours ago

Someone did some independent research looking for trends in the increasing autism rate.  They found a pocket of people where the autism birthrate went way down.  It turned out to be low income mothers whose ultrasound benefits were cut off. Also, there is a "pollutant" (PFOS/PFAS) that when fed to rodents, they seemed fine, until they were exposed to ultrasounds.  The rodents went spastic and died. This chemical accumulates in the brain.  There needs to be more research.
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BlueJewel36 2 hours ago

I would NEVER do an ultrasound on my unborn baby.  Ultrasounds are "safe enough" for doctors to use WHEN NEEDED, but they are far from safe.  Using ultrasounds in the early 1st term can actually cause a miscarriage and as the video states, it can raise tissue temps and cause bubbling in the Uterus..all dangerous results for an unborn baby.  Why chance anything?  You'll meet your baby and form an instant bond the moment you lay eyes on him/her after giving birth.  There's no need to see the child beforehand, especially at the cost of your baby's health   If a doctor cannot tell what position ur baby is in without an ultrasound, then they are not a very good doctor   Find a midwife center because they do know what their doing, and they care more about the health of you & your baby than any hospital ever will.  Hospitals only care about getting the delivery over with as quickly as possible so doctors can move onto the next patient in line, and get on with their workday so they can go home on time at the end of the day.  Labor/delivery is a LONG process, you cannot rush it...  You greatly endanger both the mother & baby when labor is rushed by using drugs, birthing utensils, suction, etc.  All these things cause deaths (to both the mother & child) and are entirely unnecessary in most circumstances   Plus, nobody knows what causes birth defects such as Autism....woman in Amish communities never expose their unborn babies to this radiation and there's not one single case of Autism in Amish communities...hmm.  Modern doctors know nothing about midwifery so my personal opinion is that they have no business seeing/treating pregnant women.
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lfitts2 1 hour ago

@BlueJewel36 Right...because you know so much about medicine.  Knowledge base:  midwife limited, Ob-Gyn:  much more.  Make any medical decisions you like, leave me out of it
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J G Horn 2 hours ago

I wonder.  How does the spread of the use of ultrasound match up against the supposed increase in diagnoses of autism (some of the latter has got to be related to changes in definition, pulling in a lot of mild and border-line cases).  I could see the vibrations of ultrasound at a key point in brain development causing future problems.  Certainly there is an obvious potential mechanism.  It might be a case of safe at some points in pregnancy and a threat at others.
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DeLisa K 3 hours ago

Maybe I had great doctors b/c with both of my children I have great, I mean great 2D ultrasound pictures. They told me lots of ultrasounds weren't good. I never even thought about getting a 3D ultrasound b/c it wasn't needed. We saw very distinctly legs, arms, toes, face profile & my son was even holding his feet with his legs up in the air. I have the pictures of it all, the doctors were printing them like crazy lol. It was such a sight & this was all done back in 2006 & 2007. The only uncomfortable thing was me having to drink so many ounces of water b/c they told me the fuller my bladder was the clearer the picture would be & they were right. What happened to just waiting for the baby to get here & being surprised?
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imonetoremember 3 hours ago

I don't care what people do. There's a risk in everything. It sounds more like these private companies that preform these ultrasounds are taking from the pockets of the health care market and that isn't sitting well. Now they are looking for any potential dangers to keep the money flowing in the right direction. Interesting how the FDA is up in arms about the uncertainty for potential dangers with this procedure but indifferent about potential dangers of GMO foods. 
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twmat311 3 hours ago

On a separate note, the FDA saying ultrasound machines "are not intended for over-the-counter (OTC) sale or use" - these photo-booth applications (usage) seem to be in direct violation, even in a legit imaging lab...(in a mall?).  Are doctors writing prescriptions - and maybe billing insurance - for souvenir images?
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everconsider 3 hours ago

Have you ever wondered why there has been such an increase in autism in children that seems to have come along with ultrasounds?  Is there a connection?
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rstewart777 3 hours ago

@everconsider Maybe.
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thefoxinwhite 3 hours ago

@everconsider It's called earlier detection thanks to extensive research and better education.
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rstewart777 3 hours ago

Leave the poor babies alone. What's next..you gonna cram a phone up there so you can talk to it? Oh..I see a whole new market for fetal phone apps. Morons.
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isitjustsomuhhype 3 hours ago

@rstewart777  actually the idea that talking , reading and exposing the baby to music in the womb is a pretty old one though insertion of a phone isn't the optimum method. lol
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RER717 4 hours ago

According to a recent consumer update, the FDA says: "The long-term effects of tissue heating and cavitation are not known. Therefore, ultrasound scans should be done only when there is a medical need." My doctor told me this 25 years ago.
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Nemain2015 5 hours ago

No explanation to "can even create small bubbles known as cavitation."  Could a doctor have been consulted to explain this and why it is bad in the article?
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veritatis1cupitor 3 hours ago

@Nemain2015 Cavitation forms Hydroxyl Radicals that can and would attack organic materials like human tissue.

In environmental engineering we use hydroxyl radicals all the time to destroy hazardous materials.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@Nemain2015  Didn't you take physics in high school?  Cavitation is a common phenomenon that I thought everyone learned about in their mid-teens.  Cavitation is the formation of small "air" bubbles in a liquid.  You may have heard about it in the context of boat propellers.
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FootnotegirlJ 5 hours ago

I'd take the FDA more seriously if my doctor hadn't decided that I was high risk enough to need an ultra-sound EVERY SINGLE WEEK for the last two months of my pregnancy, even though there were absolutely no signs that there was anything wrong with my pregnancy or any issues with my placenta. And kiddo was just fine.
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everconsider 3 hours ago

@FootnotegirlJ and how much money did they make off of you?
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greennnnnn-2009 3 hours ago

@FootnotegirlJ :  Yeah, well maybe you were just lucky, you don't know.  Perhaps you should find another doctor.  Sounds like total overkill to me.
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twmat311 3 hours ago

@FootnotegirlJ MAybe during the final 8 weeks, the fetus was sufficiently viable/strong to cope with it?


Or maybe it WAS just because it was billable?
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lfitts2 5 hours ago

For all of you anti-abortionists:  if it is your uterus, you get a choice, if it is not yours...BUTT out!  In no other medical procedure do they have waiting periods etc.  The only argument against choice is a religious one.  I am good with your view, just leave me and my family alone.  The immoral right and the hypocrites, say they do not want to get between a patient and their doctor UNLESS a woman wants to control her body.  When a woman cannot control her ability to be pregnant she loses control of her life.  A woman is not a vassal for carrying babies, she is a person. ( PS: I am a man and have daughters).  It is their choice not mine, I can't get pregnant and am not exposed to the risks of that pregnancy 
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MidnightChester 5 hours ago

@lfitts2

The growing child in the womb is neither the woman herself nor her property which she can dispose of as she pleases. It is a unique human being that has as much right to life as the mother or any person who draws breath.

I seriously doubt you would say that while you oppose murder and slavery, you do not have the right to impose that view on others, so your position here is dramatically inconsistent

Your logic, reasoning, understanding of morality and medical knowledge are all very deeply flawed.
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mkm1949 3 hours ago

@MidnightChester @lfitts2 What it is, is none of your business.
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veritatis1cupitor 3 hours ago

@mkm1949 @MidnightChester @lfitts2 That's interestingly similar that what post partum abortionists say.
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mkm1949 3 hours ago

@veritatis1cupitor @mkm1949 @MidnightChester @lfitts2 Murder is an act that is illegal. Abortion is not. Keep your moral judgements to yourself.
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veritatis1cupitor 3 hours ago

@mkm1949 @veritatis1cupitor @MidnightChester @lfitts2

Love how the left splits that hair between the two...
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MidnightChester 3 hours ago

@mkm1949

No thank you, I will not keep my moral judgments to myself, and when the U.S. Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade we will see what is legal and what is illegal.

The laws of God supercede those of man and someday abortion will be as illegal as are slavery, rape and murder.
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lfitts2 3 hours ago

@MidnightChester @mkm1949 Please note...enjoy your religion and have the common courtesy to keep it to your self...many thanks
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@lfitts2

That will never happen.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@MidnightChester @mkm1949  Why should your god, who I do not believe in, dictate the way I live my life?  Why should you, in the name of your God, have that ability?
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@mmmsquirrels

Your opinion of God is utterly irrelevant to the reality of God.

Perhaps you would like to believe that the moon is made of green cheese but again, the nature and reality of the moon renders your opinion of it null and void.

The same applies to your faulty and meaningless opinion of the God who created all things.
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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago


@mkm1949 @veritatis1cupitor @MidnightChester @lfitts2  Interesting. at one time it was illegal till our justice system failed in its judgement.  at one time it used to be illegal to drink, do marijuana. In some countries it is illegal for the people to touch royalty, which I recently read led to the death of a couple of royals who were drowning. The point is, just because a government passes a law or not making something illegal, that does not mean the act is morally correct.I could say that regardless of our law, one who commits abortions breaks God's law. It would be true. However, the essential point that no one can argue is that the baby in the womb is a separate life from the mother. Her body sustains it and the baby feeds off the nutrients she provides but the baby does not draw its essence from her once it is formed. it is its own person just as you are, just as I am. a person entitled to the right to life, our Declaration of Independence speaks of as inherent to all. SO it is our business.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@veritatis1cupitor @mkm1949 @MidnightChester @lfitts2  There is no such thing as a post-partum abortion.  Post-partum indicates after parturition, or birth.  Are you suggesting there is some group out there advocating infanticide and calling it abortion?
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MidnightChester 3 hours ago

@mkm1949

Absolute nonsense and you know it. Human life is everyone's business and all laws are based on an understanding of the vital importance of protecting life, from laws against rape and murder to simple traffic laws like not driving through red lights

The value of the life in the womb  has been cheapened by people like you because it has no way of protecting itself and also lacks a voice with which it can assert its right to life.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@MidnightChester @mkm1949  The value of the life of the mother doesn't matter to you?  You are cheapening the lives of all women who, for whatever personal reason, choose not to sustain a pregnancy.
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@mmmsquirrels

Of course the life of the mother has value. What nonsense!

Why would you presume to rest your argument on false premises?

A very, very small percentage of abortions are performed for medical reasons or in order to save the life of the mother, Most are performed because the child would be inconvenient to the parents.

At the same time the best medical evidence has shown that abortions increase the incidence of breast cancer in women by some 44%.

So why is it that you don't care either about the health and well being of the child or the mother?
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mkm1949 3 hours ago

@MidnightChester @lfitts2 that is your moral judgement based on your religious beliefs. Everyone doesn't share your religious beliefs. Abortion is a legal act in America, whether you like it or not.
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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago

@mkm1949 @MidnightChester @lfitts2  if once a law is passed we should all be happy, then why couldn't the abortioinsts adopt that mentality when abortion was still considered illegal in US? Saying "it is legal" as the end all of an argument for the rightness of something is illogical.
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@mkm1949

Just watch and see how that will change.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@MidnightChester @lfitts2  Until the fetus can survive unaided outside the womb, it is a parasite, not a viable human.
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@mmmsquirrels

A "parasite"?? My God, how lost you are.
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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago

@MidnightChester @lfitts2  I agree with your assessment here. The Baby in the womb is not simply a part of the woman, it is a separate life and soul entirely.
It is ludicrous to say that those who oppose abortion have no say in this matter and making abortion for convenience illegal. The murder of any life is the business of the whole society, not just the people involved. Jst like any other murder of innocent life. That is the whole point.. People in avor of abortion like to equate a child in the womb with just another part of a woman's body so they can negate the fact that it is a separate person and feel free to do what they want. Regardless of the need for that baby for the mother to help it grow, it is still a separate life. that is a fact
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adouloscross 4 hours ago

@lfitts2 Indeed it is the choice of the parents.  But why are the "pro-choice" people so afraid of having fully INFORMED CHOICE?  Why is it wrong to see, to understand what, who is being aborted?
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mkm1949 3 hours ago

@adouloscross @lfitts2 Why are you bent on sticking your nose into another person's business?
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greennnnnn-2009 3 hours ago

@adouloscross:  Who says that most of these people don't already HAVE an "informed choice"?  You?  You don't know that they don't "understand".  You're making it sound like every single woman who has an abortion has an IQ of 5. 
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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago

@greennnnnn-2009 @adouloscross  it is better than the alternative- to assume she is fine with taking another life simply because she doesn't want it. I hope they are just ignorant of what they are truly doing.
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mkm1949 3 hours ago

@lfitts2    Bottom line. You can pass laws, protest, shoot doctors, preach, hold hands, stand on your head singing glory halaluya in the nude, spit poop, swallow insects, until your arsk catches, but abortion will still be here. This is the 21st century, people, and if you don't like it, build a time machine and travel back to the dark ages where your thinking is in tune with the times. You'l find doing that more likely than banning abortion.
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twmat311 3 hours ago

@mkm1949 @lfitts2 And likely it existed in the dark ages too, in some crude form.
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mmmsquirrels 2 hours ago

@twmat311 @mkm1949 @lfitts2  Not at all.  Abortifacients are on record from the time of recorded history.  Nothing crude about it.
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MidnightChester 2 hours ago

@mkm1949

Almost 58 million lives have been snuffed out by abortion since the passage of Roe v. Wade. At the same time, some 7 abortion doctors have been killed.

All of those deaths were murders.


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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago

@lfitts2  actually the term is PRO life. I know the abortion crowd like to put a negative spin on those who respect life in the womb to win people to your cause but it is dirty politics. We oppose murdering  AND the taking of a baby's life in the womb when it is for no other reason than that life is considered inconvenient. I have a couple neighbors who are inconvenient but I am no more entitled to off them than another is to kill their child in the womb. I am sure you love your daughters and want the best for them, but how is devaluing a baby's life simply because it was unplanned a good thing to teach them? Life is not always convenient, but isn't the point of life to be the best person you can be regardless of what is thrown at you? Easy outs are not always the best choice for character.
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thefoxinwhite 2 hours ago

@isitjustsomuhhype @lfitts2 You aren't pro life. You're pro birth. The moment that being is born, you cease to care about it. Your kind do not adopt, do not foster, and vote to cut welfare. You vote for abstinence only education (despite research proving that teen pregnancy is higher in areas with abstinence only education) and you expect grown, mature adults not to have sex.
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isitjustsomuhhype 2 hours ago

@thefoxinwhite @isitjustsomuhhype @lfitts2  you do not know me at all but I do love how personal attacks seem to be the response when one gets defensive
I expect grown mature adults to act responsibly and respect life. not to murder. to pay their bills, to treat people with respect, and when they have extra- to share. things you learn in kindergarten-- and are supposed to have .
If a grown adult wants to have sex, have at it, but no life should suffer for your choice.. all acts have consequences, the mature thing is to take responsibility.
Life is not just about any one of us.