‘Keepsake’ ultrasounds still popular, despite FDA warnings

Like many pregnant women, Favela visited an ultrasound center to view her unborn baby on a machine that captures 3-D and 4-D images. The practice is purely for entertainment and allows parents to take home images, a DVD recording of the session and other souvenirs. But many in the obstetrics field have shunned so-called keepsake ultrasounds, citing a lack of regulation and oversight by doctors.

“It was amazing,” Favela said after seeing her baby during her second and most recent visit to Stork 4D Imaging Studio in Aurora. “We made a connection with him. I know what he looks like. My husband says he looks like me.”

Ultrasound technology is generally considered safe by doctors, but it’s unknown what prolonged and frequent ultrasounds could do to a fetus.

In December, the Food and Drug Administration renewed its advisory urging women not to seek ultrasounds outside their doctor’s office or a hospital. In recent years several medical groups have denounced keepsake ultrasounds, including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

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