To confirm the sex or discover the face of their baby, some pregnant women have so-called “comfort” fetal ultrasounds. However, they are not legal and can be risky.
- So-called “pleasure” or “comfort” ultrasounds, which are offered by private companies, allow you to discover the child’s face or gender.
- However, these examinations, presenting “minimal” risks for the brain of the developing fetus, are not carried out by health professionals, which is prohibited by law.
- In addition, the images or words used during these types of consultations could “raise concern” among future parents.
It’s a unique moment for future parents. During the nine months of pregnancy, three ultrasound scans are recommended by health authorities to ensure the proper development of the fetus and detect anomalies, but also to check the position of the child, the number of babies or even the sex of the child. Additional tests may be requested by the doctor if he considers it necessary to monitor the infant’s progress more closely.
“Comfort” ultrasounds have no medical purpose
In recent years, many people have resorted to so-called “pleasure” or “comfort” ultrasounds, which are offered by private companies. These allow you to discover, alone or accompanied by loved ones, facial expressions, facial features or even determine the sex of the baby from 14 or 16 weeks of pregnancy. Ten years earlier, health professionals had already alerted the public authorities to this practice which has no medical or diagnostic purpose.
In 2012, the High Authority of Health (HAS) published a report in which it pointed out that practitioners cannot ethically perform ultrasound for commercial purposes. “Indeed, for a doctor or midwife, the commercial practice of ultrasound, whatever its objective, is not compatible with ethics, as stipulated in the two Codes concerned: ‘Medicine must not be carried on as a trade’ and ‘Midwifery should not be carried on as a trade’.”
“To date, no one is able to say whether these ultrasounds are legal”
Problem: these ultrasounds are carried out by people who are not health professionals, as indicated BFMTV. However, this is an offense punishable by law. This is why, on October 26, the senator from the North, Marie-Claude Lermytte, addressed a question to the Minister of Health on the legality of this practice.
“More and more women are resorting to so-called comfort ultrasounds (…) and this for an affordable price of around 80 euros. In certain cases, these images can worry parents who then go to the emergency room when “They do not have the competence to interpret and analyze whether there is a real danger for the fetus. To date, no one is able to say whether these ultrasounds are legal and whether only doctors and midwives- women, under certain conditions, are authorized to carry out these examinations”, she wrote.
She is not the only one to point out this problem. “It is the illegal exercise of the profession of doctor and midwife,” declared to BFMTVSandrine Brame, vice-president of the national council of the Order of Midwives.
“Pleasure” ultrasounds can “raise concerns”
In addition, “pleasure” ultrasounds are not without risks. In an interview given to the media, Philippe Courtois, lawyer specializing in medical law, spoke of the potential endangerment of pregnant women. “To what extent, since they saw the child and he seemed to be doing well, could they forgo consulting their doctor and performing the ultrasounds planned as part of pregnancy monitoring?”
These types of consultations can also worry future parents. “It’s entirely conceivable that an untrained person might say that the baby is ‘big’ or that there’s ‘not much amniotic fluid,’ words that can immediately raise concerns.”explained Sandrine Brame.
A problem confirmed by Philippe Bouhanna, doctor, specialized in fetal ultrasound and fetal medicine, and president of the ultrasound commission of the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF). “I have already received panicked patients after having carried out this type of ultrasound. (…) If, at the time of the ultrasound, the hand of the fetus is in front of the nose, this creates a cone of shadow, like a black hole. These are called false positives. I have the authority to detect them, not these people.”
“Potential” risks for the brain of a developing fetus
The specialist also underlined the “minimal” but “potential” risks linked to ultrasound. “An ultrasound on the head to reveal the face, these are ultrasounds which pass over a developing brain. We might as well avoid bombarding the brain of a fetus with ultrasounds”, he concluded.
