A new study led by Yale University School of Medicine's neurobiology chairman, Dr. Pasko Rakic, suggests that ultrasound can alter normal fetal brain development. Rakic and colleagues exposed mice in utero to ultrasound and found that a small but statistically significant number of neurons failed to organize appropriately. These neurons then failed to migrate correctly into the mice's cerebral cortices.

The researchers noted that the effects of ultrasound on human brain development are not yet known. Rakic concluded that pregnant women should avoid unnecessary ultrasound scans until more research has been done.

Many physicians include at least one ultrasound as part of routine prenatal care--and further scans throughout pregnancy are not uncommon. According to the March of Dimes, 70 percent of American women have at least one ultrasound during pregnancy.

The overuse of ultrasound runs counter to the advice of the Food and Drug Administration, which cautions, "While ultrasound has been around for many years, expectant women and their families need to know that the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposure on the fetus are not fully known." In addition, the official "Prudent Use" statement of the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine (MUM) states: "The MUM strongly discourages the non-medical use of ultrasound for psychosocial or entertainment purposes. The use of either two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound only to view the fetus, obtain a picture of the fetus, or determine the fetal gender without a medical indication is inappropriate and contrary to responsible medical practice."

Carol Rados, "FDA Cautions against Ultrasound 'Keepsake' Images," FDA Consumer Magazine (January-February 2004).

Pasko Rakic et al., "Prenatal Exposure to Ultrasound Waves Impacts Neuronal Migration in Mice," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103, no. 34 (10 August 2006): 12903-12910; www.pnas .org/cgi/content/full/103/34/12903?maxtoshow=& HITS=10&hits=10&RESULT.

"Ultrasound," March of Dimes "Quick Reference and Fact Sheet," www.marchof dimes.corn/professionals/681_1167.asp.

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, "Prudent Use," 2 May 1999; www.aium.org/ publications/statements/_statementSelected .asp?statement=2.

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Mothering Magazine - Kimber Pasquali