JFBC

Juneau Family Birth Center is where Dan and I will be having our baby. We went on a tour yesterday, even though we knew this is where we wanted to have the baby, the tour just confirmed it. I scheduled my first pre-natal appointment for Tuesday the 25th. They said I could get an ultra-sound to solidify how far along we are. Obviously it wouldn't be a "normal" ultra-sound because of how early in the game we are. I had some questions about the safety and need of ultrasounds so the mid-wife provided me with some literature. So for the safety of my little bean I am opting NOT to get the ultra-sound.
Ultrasounds were introduced into widespread use before any studies were done to determine it relative safety and that is scary to me. Also while the FDA has set limits for emissions, no state or federal regulations require calibration of diagnostic devices. Calibration is left entirely to the discretion of private manufacturers. The FDA has quality control standards for equipment specifications. Once sold, however, equipment maintenance and emissions control are left up to the purchaser, with expectations that power output will diminish as parts age.
Studies have linked ultrasounds to increased rates of childhood cancers and leukemia, free radical production, a likely mechanism for the origin of DNA damage. One controlled trial set up to justify systematic ultrasound screening noted 20 miscarriages in the scanned group and none in the controlled group. A Michigan study discovered that preterm labor more than doubled in a group receiving weekly scans compared with those who received pelvic exams alone.
Studies often done in animals or tissues in laboratories and often using larger doses than those used in humans have noted the following. Chromosomal damage, gross cranial and facial malformations, smaller offspring, breakdown of DNA molecules, blood stasis, liver cell changes, jaundice, branin enzyme changes, changes in brain wave patterns, delayed postnatal grasp reflex, bleeding in newborn mouse lungs, increases emotional reactivity, delay in neuromuscular development, reduction in immunoglobulin antibodies, 10 - 20 times increased absorption of hormones, increases anxiety and stress in the mother.
I know people have been getting them for a long time, but I don't want to chance it. I would rather be safe than sorry.
Anyway on a lighter note. I am a little over 5 weeks today. Our baby is about the size of a sesame seed and looks like a tiny tadpole.