A recent Canadian study suggests that women with uncomplicated pregnancies are having too many ultrasounds. According to the study, out of 1.4 million cases of pregnancies studied from 1996 to 2007, 37 percent of the pregnant women were having three or more ultrasounds. 20 percent of women were having more than four tests.
How many ultrasounds have you had in a single pregnancy?
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Foetal fascinations
So, I'm sure all of you pregnant gals out there have been wondering how you can commemorate your foetus' first photo more spectacularly than just shoving the thing in your purse and yanking it out for every person that notices that you're pregnant.
How about a turning your ultrasound image into a decorative canvas? Or a personalised ultrasound postage stamp? Or, my personal favourite: CUFFLINKS.
Has the world gone cuckoo? Cufflinks? Seriously?
I think I need a little lie down.
Holy foetus!
And I thought it was problematic that we think of foetuses as people before they are born...A woman in Ohio thinks you can see an image of Jesus in her ultrasound.
Kind of like those pieces of toast that are sold on eBay with images of the Virgin Mary...
South Dakota sonogram harassment
The South Dakota House and Senate recently passed a bill requiring doctors to offer pregnant women sonograms before they decide to have an abortion. If the woman refuses to 'see' her 'baby', she must sign a form indicating she has been offered the technology.
According to a number of conservative male legislators, the use of the ultrasound in this particular encounter is supposed to encourage women to keep their fetuses because 'seeing' a fetus as a 'baby' and 'not just a blob of tissue' will clearly overwhelm women who are ambivalent about motherhood with maternal feelings.
One female senator has called this 'harassment', and rightly so.
Isn't it interesting that pregnancy can be received so differently just on the basis of whether the pregnancy is wanted or not? For women who want to be pregnant, a little 'blob of tissue' on a screen is a 'baby'. For women who have found themselves uncomfortably pregnant, that same blob of tissue might be perceived as an alien or even a parasite. With regard to the fetus, as a number of feminist scholars have suggested in light of the abortion debate, the increasing use of sophisticated imaging technology is dangerous precisely because of what is happening in South Dakota. Personhood, as in many 'non-Western' cultures is not conferred upon birth when a child is welcomed into a community. Rather, personhood is conferred upon 'seeing' a fetus as early as 4 weeks in some cases simply because we have the technology to do so. As such, the mother's identity/personhood is eclipsed in favour of the fetus and her body is perceived as merely a receptacle for life, without regard for her own.
Source: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/top/doc479f941307871396515177.txt
According to a number of conservative male legislators, the use of the ultrasound in this particular encounter is supposed to encourage women to keep their fetuses because 'seeing' a fetus as a 'baby' and 'not just a blob of tissue' will clearly overwhelm women who are ambivalent about motherhood with maternal feelings.
One female senator has called this 'harassment', and rightly so.
Isn't it interesting that pregnancy can be received so differently just on the basis of whether the pregnancy is wanted or not? For women who want to be pregnant, a little 'blob of tissue' on a screen is a 'baby'. For women who have found themselves uncomfortably pregnant, that same blob of tissue might be perceived as an alien or even a parasite. With regard to the fetus, as a number of feminist scholars have suggested in light of the abortion debate, the increasing use of sophisticated imaging technology is dangerous precisely because of what is happening in South Dakota. Personhood, as in many 'non-Western' cultures is not conferred upon birth when a child is welcomed into a community. Rather, personhood is conferred upon 'seeing' a fetus as early as 4 weeks in some cases simply because we have the technology to do so. As such, the mother's identity/personhood is eclipsed in favour of the fetus and her body is perceived as merely a receptacle for life, without regard for her own.
Source: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/top/doc479f941307871396515177.txt
pregtastic podcasts and 3D fetuses
I just found this handy website for those of you who are down with pod-casting about all things pregnancy:
'A website and weekly podcast series by and for pregnant women. It's casual, informative and fun! Our weekly guests include, Lactation Specialists, Doulas, Pre and Postnatal Fitness Experts, Pediatricians, Massage Therapists, Family Financial Counselors'
Check it out here: www.pregtastic.com
Also, read this: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=68902
Parents can watch their developing fetus using 3D glasses! Watch the video below:
'A website and weekly podcast series by and for pregnant women. It's casual, informative and fun! Our weekly guests include, Lactation Specialists, Doulas, Pre and Postnatal Fitness Experts, Pediatricians, Massage Therapists, Family Financial Counselors'
Check it out here: www.pregtastic.com
Also, read this: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=68902
Parents can watch their developing fetus using 3D glasses! Watch the video below:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)