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3 D ultrasound and pregnancy monitoring
As much to be clear, a 3 D ultrasound does not no medical interest for screening examinations. A woman who did not benefit from it during her pregnancy was in no way poorly followed. And contrary to a widely held idea, 3 D does not allow you to have a better quality image. On the contrary, the definition in 2 D is superior. “Insofar as this examination does not bring anything, that it consequently makes wasting time for the doctor and that it distracts his attention, one can say that the patient loses there”, summarizes the Dr Roger Bessis, vice -President of the French College of Fetal Ultrasound (CFEF).
However, this type of radio can provide diagnostic supplement insofar as it makes it possible to observe with precision the shape of certain organs and to identify possible malformations. If it is ultimately of no use, why has 3 D developed so much? And how to explain that so many women leave their sonographer with the precious pictures. “Some do it to please and because they think the patient finds it better,” says Dr. Roger Bessis.
The excesses of commercial ultrasound …
A few months ago, the High Authority for Health (HAS) sounded the alarm. ” A “medical” ultrasound must be performed for the purpose of diagnosis, screening or follow-up and performed exclusively by doctors or midwives ”. With this punchy opinion, she warned against private practices, specializing in commercial ultrasounds, which offer future parents souvenir snapshots of the fetus. This practice, which has grown significantly in recent years, worries professionals. “Is it good to use medical tools in a non-medical context?” Asks the vice-president of the French College of Fetal Ultrasound (CFEF). “The general answer is obvious no. »Concerning the ultrasound part, if there are no deleterious effects demonstrated to date, it is better to apply the precautionary principle and limit their use. There is no reason to expose a fetus to ultrasound when it does not need it for its health.
… and its psychological risks
The other danger of these ultrasounds, a fortiori in 3 D, is psychological. When we go to the three medical ultrasounds, it is not without apprehension, especially for the first. We are getting ready somewhere to meet our baby. Whereas in the case of commercial ultrasounds, we go there to make beautiful images, moving films. What happens if we hear bad news ? “Beyond a hypothetical risk related to ultrasound that it is useless to take, there is probably a psycho-emotional risk,” says Dr. Roger Bessis. The delivery of these images, in the absence of competent support, can have a significant impact on parents. There is a psychic vulnerability of couples during pregnancy. Psychoanalyst Catherine Bergeret-Amselek shares this opinion: “It is not just images, the words spoken will remain engraved in the head, a clumsy sentence is enough to reinforce the anxieties. “
Ultrasound: magic through images
Thanks to ultrasound, meeting her baby is a wonderful moment, a real emotional shock experienced differently by each woman. The image of the fetus moving on the screen brings the pregnancy to life. It allows the mother to realize that a little being is growing in her. And for the father, seeing his child is a first step in becoming aware of his fatherhood. “Pregnancy begins an interior journey, the birth of a man and a woman who become parents, a journey takes place. This time of the mother’s birth is essential, ”explains psychoanalyst Catherine Bergeret-Amselek. Ultrasounds are all necessary steps in this adventure.
But these examinations, above all screening, are also sources of stress. What mother didn’t feel a little trepidation when she walked through the sonographer’s door the first time? Check that the child is in good health, that he has no malformations… Yes, the ultrasound reassures anxious future mothers. But doesn’t the image have an even stronger power?
Too many images hold back the imagination
There is something brutal about the sudden visualization of the child. Dr Michel Soulé used the expression “voluntary interruption of fantasies” about ultrasound scans, as the baby appearing on the screen may be different from what we had imagined. For psychoanalyst Catherine Bergeret-Amselek, “too many images can interfere with the smooth running of the sensory experience. We forget too much that the cliché is only a medical imagery ”. Parents will look at these photos several times, show them to those around them. We will find similarities with the mother, the brother, the cousin … The baby really begins to exist. It can help some parents realize what they are going through.
But at the same time, this surplus of images does not always leave them the possibility of imagining this little being. “It is important to fantasize the imaginary baby, to allow time and space for it to take shape and consistency”, adds the psychoanalyst. “The time of pregnancy is conducive to many existential questions, doors open and close. The more examinations are offered to the couple, the less time they have to develop all these questions. “