"Baby cinema banned from 2021" - the headline is short, clear, crisp. A good headline, a real eye-catcher.
What can be read in many newspapers, magazines and online portals at the turn of the year will probably worry expectant parents. Is ultrasound so harmful that it must be banned? Will ultrasound examinations during pregnancy be reduced to three routine checks? Will there be no more pictures of the future offspring?
The snappy headline raises questions. To avoid misunderstandings, we would like to emphasise the following points at this point:
- Baby TV "just for fun" - i.e. an ultrasound examination without medical indication - may no longer be offered in future.
- Ultrasound examinations as part of antenatal care are still permitted if there is a medical indication or question - even if they are not part of routine care.
- Within the framework of prenatal diagnostics we continue to offer services such as nuchal fold measurement with first trimester screening, fine-diagnostic organ ultrasound or additional ultrasound for progress monitoring as a self-pay service.
- The doctor decides whether there is a medical indication or not. A medical indication explicitly includes the expectant mother's wish to know "whether everything is all right". Pictures of the examination may be given to the mother or made accessible via FetView made available.
- A professionally performed ultrasound examination is harmless to the unborn child. There is no scientific study that proves a health risk from appropriately used ultrasound. This also applies to 3D ultrasound.
For those who want to know everything in more detail:
Statement of the Federal Association of Gynaecologists
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