In France, there are three mandatory ultrasound scans that every pregnant woman must undergo. In the field of prenatal imaging, health professionals use ultrasound probes because the ultrasound they produce is non-invasive for both the mother and the unborn child. However, a book has been published that questions the non-invasive aspect of ultrasound. Its title? “The dark side of prenatal ultrasound and the dangers of non-ionising radiation: Part 1“. Our laboratory, which repairs ETO probes, does not wish to take sides in this matter. On the other hand, we feel it is important to provide information about the publication of such a book 5 years ago… and its current revival!
What the book says
The author, Jeanice Barcelo, describes her book as ‘a revolutionary analysis of the documented facts about the dangers of prenatal ultrasound’. According to Barcelo, ultrasound “should be immediately banned in obstetrics because it uses non-ionising radiation, and thousands of studies have confirmed that this type of radiation is harmful, especially to children and babies developing in the womb“.
She goes on to say: “What I discovered through my research is that ultrasound is radiation, and I can tell you unequivocally that the Food and Drug Administration has known about the damage caused by this technology for many, many decades“. He added: “The book contains life-changing information that could save the lives of many children. It’s time to take a stand to protect children“.
Why talk about it now?
Jeanice Barcelo will publish this book on 04 April 2019. It follows two other publications:
- “Birth trauma and the dark side of modern medicine“, published in March 2015.
- “Are wireless devices really safe?” to be published in September 2020.
But why are we talking about this book, published in April 2019, now? In fact, its resurgence was provoked by a recent article on thema-radiologie.fr, published on 08 December 2023.
What should we make of it?
Is there a danger in prenatal ultrasound, as the author claims? As mentioned in the introduction, it is out of the question for our ETO probe repair laboratory to take a position on this issue. However, as the article in Thema Radiologie states, this book “is likely to cause controversy in the radiology community“.
Compulsory antenatal ultrasound scans
In addition to this book, PRS Healthcare would like to remind you of the three pregnancy scans that are still compulsory in France:
- The dating ultrasound. Which must be carried out between the 11th and 13th week of amenorrhoea, i.e. around the 3rd month of pregnancy.
- Morphological ultrasoun. Between 22 and 24 weeks of amenorrhoea, i.e. around 5 months of pregnancy.
- Fetal well-being scan. Between 31 and 33 weeks of amenorrhoea, which is around 7 to 8 months of pregnancy.
You can find out more about these three scans on the National Health Insurance website.
As far as ultrasound scanners are concerned, other issues are currently being debated by health professionals… And we’ll be reporting on them soon. In the meantime, if you would like an audit of your equipment before repairs to your ETO, 2D or 3D probes become mandatory, contact us! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If this adage applies to your patients, it also applies to your tools.
