Prenatal Ultrasound

Through a comprehensive review of the literature it has been found that on its own prenatal ultrasound exposure is not a cause of autism. Although previously performed studies reported a link between autism and ultrasound exposure the results have not been replicated. More recently performed studies have found that those exposed to ultrasound prenatally have the same risk of developing autism as those unexposed. Based on the results of such research studies as Grether et al. and Stalberg et al. it is recommended that prenatal ultrasound use be continued for medical reasons during pregnancy. The minimal number of scans necessary should be performed to ensure the pregnancy is progressing normally.
While the majority of studies found no link between prenatal ultrasound exposure and ASD further research is still needed into the topic. Most of the studies discussed were performed in the late nineteen nineties with follow-ups on the children being done more recently. The output capabilities of ultrasound machines as well as medical guidelines for ultrasound use have changed since then. Ultrasound use should remain limited in pregnancy with only necessary scans being performed until this research has been completed. In addition to the research discussed another risk of ultrasound exposure is tissue heating which
Ultrasound may become the stressor that causes development of ASD if exposure occurs during a specific time period of vulnerability during pregnancy to a genetically susceptible fetus (Williams and Casanova, 2010). This concept is important because if it can be proved legitimate we can then narrow down the specific window of time where fetuses are most susceptible to teratogenic effects from ultrasound and then ensure that ultrasounds are not given during this time