In addition, agency says, leave Doppler fetal heartbeat monitors to health professionals.
(HealthDay)—Expectant mothers should not get fetal ultrasound videos as keepsakes and should not use over-the-counter Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Although both products are generally considered safe, they are approved for use only with a prescription. The increasing use of these devices for nonmedical reasons is raising concerns among health officials.
"Although there are no known risks of ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors, the radiation associated with them can produce effects on the body," Robert Phillips, a physicist with the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an agency news release.
"When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly," Phillips said. "In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues."
The long-term impact of these effects is not known, Phillips said.
"Performing prenatal ultrasounds without medical oversight may put a mother and her unborn baby at risk," he said. "The bottom line is: Why take a chance with your baby's health for the sake of a video?"
In some cases, when mothers get keepsake videos of their fetus, an ultrasound machine may be used for as long as an hour, Phillips said.
The FDA is also concerned about over-the-counter sales of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors, which are used to listen to a fetus's heartbeat. The agency says these devices should be used only by or under the supervision of a health care professional.
"When the product is purchased over the counter and used without prior consultation with a health care professional, there is no oversight of how the device is used and little or no medical benefit derived from the exposure," Phillips said. "The number of sessions or the length of a session to which a fetus is exposed is uncontrolled, thus raising the potential for harm to the fetus."
Explore further: Improved ultrasound capabilities with nanoscale imaging agents made by microbes
More information: The March of Dimes has more about fetal ultrasound.
Copyright © 2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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In addition, agency says, leave Doppler fetal heartbeat monitors to health professionals.
(HealthDay)—Expectant mothers should not get fetal ultrasound videos as keepsakes and should not use over-the-counter Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Although both products are generally considered safe, they are approved for use only with a prescription. The increasing use of these devices for nonmedical reasons is raising concerns among health officials.
"Although there are no known risks of ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors, the radiation associated with them can produce effects on the body," Robert Phillips, a physicist with the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an agency news release.
"When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly," Phillips said. "In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues."
The long-term impact of these effects is not known, Phillips said.
"Performing prenatal ultrasounds without medical oversight may put a mother and her unborn baby at risk," he said. "The bottom line is: Why take a chance with your baby's health for the sake of a video?"
In some cases, when mothers get keepsake videos of their fetus, an ultrasound machine may be used for as long as an hour, Phillips said.
The FDA is also concerned about over-the-counter sales of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors, which are used to listen to a fetus's heartbeat. The agency says these devices should be used only by or under the supervision of a health care professional.
"When the product is purchased over the counter and used without prior consultation with a health care professional, there is no oversight of how the device is used and little or no medical benefit derived from the exposure," Phillips said. "The number of sessions or the length of a session to which a fetus is exposed is uncontrolled, thus raising the potential for harm to the fetus."
Explore further: Improved ultrasound capabilities with nanoscale imaging agents made by microbes
More information: The March of Dimes has more about fetal ultrasound.
Copyright © 2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Doppler ultrasound in pregnancy reduces risk in high-risk groups
Jan 20, 2010
Current evidence suggests that using Doppler ultrasound in high-risk pregnancies to monitor a fetus' health may reduce caesarean sections and the number of babies who die, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review.
Improved ultrasound capabilities with nanoscale imaging agents made by microbes
Mar 17, 2014
Dr. Mikhail Shapiro was interested in developing nanoscale imaging agents for ultrasound to enable non-invasive imaging of a much broader range of biological and biomedical events in the body. Turning to nature for inspiration, ...
X-rays overused in ICU: Ultrasound safer, just as effective
Oct 28, 2013
A new study shows that the use of ultrasound testing rather than x-rays or CT scans in the ICU reduces patient radiation exposure and lowers costs of care. The study was presented at CHEST 2013, the annual meeting of the ...
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27 minutes ago
An ultrasound of the lungs could help doctors quickly determine if a pregnant woman with preeclampsia is at risk for respiratory failure, suggests preliminary research published in the April issue of Anesthesiology.
US judge: State abortion ultrasound law illegal
Jan 18, 2014
A North Carolina law requiring women who want an abortion to have an ultrasound and then have a medical provider describe the image to them is a violation of constitutional free-speech rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.
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