Are you sure you want that ultrasound? | Part 2: Research

Ingefleur Fertility Homeopath > Posts > Mother & baby > Are you sure you want that ultrasound? | Part 2: Research
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Although I expected some reactions when I published Part 1: The risks of ultrasounds, I never imagined I would get as many as I did. Several women shared that they felt confirmed in their suspicions of the (early) scans they had before having missed abortions. In a way they felt relief that maybe it was not their own body that had let them down. Some pregnant women let me know that they decided to cancel or postpone their ultrasounds after having read the post. For them especially, I will offer alternatives for routine scans in the third post of this series. In today’s post I will be sharing the research around ultrasounds as well as the advice I give to my patients.

risks of ultrasounds

If you have already made up your mind and just want to know what to do, scroll to the bottom of this post to read what I advice I give to my patients and head on over to to Part 3 for your alternatives to scans.

As I wrote in the previous post, ultrasound raises temperature and overheating leads to slowing down of cell division and even cell death.

“Thank you for this [post]. In my last miscarriage I had an early scan and had a missed miscarriage.” – facebook follower

Studies show that depending on the tissue that is scanned (fluid, bone, soft tissue) the temperature goes up to a still safe range of 1.0-1.5 C (1.8 – 2.7 F). That is… if it is used safely and the wand is not held too long in one place. When not done properly, the temperature goes up beyond the safe range and that is when cells stop developing properly or die.

You can imagine the consequences of this with little embryos.

The younger the embryo is (less cells), the bigger the impact will be of a few cells stopping to developing or dying.

I therefore especially advise against 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds at all cost as these sessions last very long and baby is exposed to intense ultrasound for long periods of time. They are often not done by professional sonographers either. Even the Federal Drug Agency, advises against the use of these ultrasounds.

The FDA also warns against the at home Doppler ultrasounds. These heat up cells well above the safe range and studies on overheating with Doppler have clearly indicated to affect the baby’s developing brain.


A summary of the research I came across:

1. Several studies showed an increased risk of miscarriages. In one study 9000 women were split in 2 groups. In the group that received ultrasounds there were 20 miscarriages, while in the non-scanned group there were none at all. Note that these scans were done between 16-20 weeks (so much later than early scans and even later than the often standard 12 week scan).

2. Another study showed that pregnancies in which 2 or more Doppler scans were performed, the risk of fetal death was twice higher than in unexposed pregnancies.

“I had planned an ultrasound next week now that I am 6 weeks pregnant, but after reading your article, I postponed it. I have had two missed miscarriages in the past. In both cases I had 5-6 week scans that looked good, but the heartbeats were gone at the 8 and 10 week scans. Both times the babies measured at only 6 weeks, so they must have died right after the scans.” – patient

3. It is quite concerning that a 2008 study revealed a lot of ultrasound technicians world-wide had poor knowledge about the safety of ultrasound, which makes it more likely that they cause overheating of the baby. Hopefully in 9 years skills have improved a lot, but who knows.

4. Several studies have been showing a connection between ultrasounds and ADHD and autism as well. The good news here is, that if you had several scans in your pregnancy and your child suffers with ADHD or autism, with homeopathic treatment an ultrasound detox can make an incredible difference to your child’s behavior and development.

5. Multiple studies have indicated that the use of ultrasounds does not improve the chances of babies being healthier or reducing fetal death!
However, they do increase the chance of women having a cesarean.

“I will always wonder if early scans caused my missed miscarriages” – patient

While doing my research, one discovery really stood out.

Not even the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will guarantee the absolute safety of ultrasounds!

They advise to only use them for medical reasons by qualified health care providers.

So here is what I advise to my patients:

  • Do not us Doppler or 3D and 4D imaging at all
  • Skip the first ultrasound that confirms if you are pregnant and do not get an ultrasound before 12 weeks unless your doctor suspects an ectopic pregnancy.
  • Have you doctor inform you on symptoms to look out for if you have a higher risk of complications such as a past ectopic pregnancy.
  • If you need to have a scan for medical reasons, take the homeopathic remedy Ultrasound 30c before the scan, right after, and once a day after that for 2 more days.
  • Evaluate if you really need an ultrasound at all and consider your alternatives

Alternatives? Yes! You have alternatives!

For thousands of years women and babies have done without ultrasounds and there are technologies that can also give the information ultrasounds give.

If you want to know what your ultrasound alternatives are, head on over to Part 3 of this series.

Have you decided to postpone or cancel your planned ultrasound? Do you have a history of missed miscarriages after an (early) scan? Did you find this post useful? Please share this post to raise awareness and give more women the opportunity to make up their own mind.


Research risks of ultrasounds: