Ultrasounds and Autism....The Aftermath

Ultrasounds appeal to us, they appeal to our emotions and curiosity and we get cloaked into a dizzy tailspin of fantasy about our new creation, as if we are given a key of knowledge, a glimpse into our very future-BUT IS IT WORTH IT? NO!!!

I will be the first one to tell you, that when my Midwife or OB would mention a scan, I would "light up" just thinking I would get a peak at my little one. Never once questioning the safety of the procedure, it is with grave reret that I write this.  A lump in my throat and a flood gate of tears come over me as I think back to those scans, that I could have directly and permanently affected my son's life, unknowingly.  His brain was and is so delicate and I let my lust for getting a peak at him and ignorance of the safety, that just maybe altered his life forever. Just to look at my beautiful son asleep, he looks totally normal, but his brain is just different. We work hard and he is loved beyond measure, but did our very technology somehow contribute to his Autism??? I think know so. 

I have just been literally blown out of the water reading everything I could get my hands on, about fetal exposure to the sound and heat of these "so called  harmless" ultrasounds.  All of those times, we think baby is hiding from us, they are probably very literally 'running from the scan!'  They are trying to convey, that it is damaging them, maybe at the very moment causing pain.

Our brains are delicate, very delicate, and this technology, we use, as if we are guinea pigs could affect an entire generation, because we blindly agree and get seduced into believing it is best, and in the meantime we are given an illusion of control in the womb. Let me also add that this is a money making industry and with each scan, and our assurance that all is well in the womb, our very piece of mind is paid for with a high price, even higher than we once thought-just maybe our children's future. We see our baby, we see what he or she looks like, what they are doing, an we yearn for more. We are obsessed with every detail of it and have begun as a society thinking it is a rite of passage to know the sex of your baby and actually see him or her in utero. I cannot believe I never questioned it-ever.

I want to thank a brilliant author, researcher and incredible woman, Jennifer Margulis.  Her talent and lust for truth and to educate her fellow (wo)man is awe-inspiring.  I am honored to be a part in some small way, of spreading the word about her hard work and dedication.  We as women, as Mother's need to research everything before deeming anything is safe. Thanks to Jennifer Margulis for opening my eyes to all of this. I am forever changed by it, and hope that you will do your own research and never assume that this is a good procedure for you or your baby. As I type this and look at the technology all around, I wonder what is next?  What convenience piece in our quick serve world will cause the next Cancer, my phone, my computer, or the foods we eat?  Truth really is stranger than fiction.

Below is an excerpt from the Huffington Post about Ultrasounds and Autism:

"Is it correct to say that prenatal ultrasound can heat fetal tissue and cause intense auditory effects?

Yes. Scientists at Yale (Ang, et al, 2006) found that exposure to pulsed ultrasound waves affects the movement of neurons (nerve cells) in the brains of rodents. Neurons are generated in one area of the developing brain and migrate to the cerebral cortex. This migration of neurons is one of the most delicate, complex and critical processes during fetal development. Anything that could change how and where brain cells grow and develop also may change basic brain functionality and all processes that depend on this phase of nervous system organization.

In addition, researchers at the Mayo Clinic characterized the audible effect of a typical ultrasound scanner as equal to 100 dB, equal to the sound of a subway train entering a station (Fatemi, et al, 2005)."

In closing, we all tend to drink the kool-aid, as I will be the first to admit that I took BIG gulps, especially with the ultrasounds.  I became drunk with the fantasy of seeing my baby for any reason the OB deemed necessary, never giving any thought to the aftermath.  You cannot Un-Ring a Bell.....I am trying to take everything I have learned and be more informed.  Until my son is whole, I will never give up. EVER!

If you want to read more (beware: it's hard to understand), check out the work of Manuel Casanova... http://minicolumn.org/people/casanova/