Is an ultrasound safe?

This question was posted by Puan Purple Lady Aifa in my previous entry.
btw..congrats mom-to-be Aifa!! =)

I didnt bother to think if it safe or not to do ultrasound every month, as, as far as i know,
kat private clinic mmg akan scan ur baby for every check up.. which occurs every months for first n second trimester..and every two weeks bile dah masuk 7 bulan..

so for me..safe la kott (jawapan dari seorang engineer yg tidak expert lansung dlm pregnancy..hhahha)

anyhow, i did some readings since yesterday..and there are "yes" and "no" articles.
for example:
http://www.webmd.com/baby/ultrasound
http://drbenkim.com/articles-ultrasound-pregnancy.html

the best quote that i cud find is from my favorite site (recommended by my sis, Tik) : babycenter

Ultrasounds have been used in pregnancy for more than 40 years
and medical research has found no side effects. No association has been shown between ultrasound exposure and the baby's birthweight, childhood leukaemias or other cancers, eyesight, hearing or dyslexia. Even so, most experts agree that the procedure shouldn't be done without clear medical reasons, and that all ultrasound exposure should be justified and limited to the minimum needed to make a diagnosis.

voila voila.. so jgn mengade nak pegi scan every week..tu dah terlebey excited ok!
if you are at high risk, and dr nak buat ultrasound..jgn pulak mengade nak tolak sbb ultrasound may help to save ur baby as well even kat dlm komen drbenkim tu pon ade ckp.

pepehal..ur gynae knows best, what is safe for u and ur baby
if dia nak scan..then let it
if not..tak payah nak mintak..unless u have strong feeling that u baby has prob..better request =)

as for me..i akan stick to my decision
buat check up kat KK, and scan kat private sbb kat KK takde scan.
same seperti doing check up kat private ..cuma i got better and free consultation =)

btw..these are the common uses of ultrasound (from babycenter)

Depending on which stage of pregnancy they are done at, ultrasound scans can:

• Check your baby has a heartbeat (normally on 7 weeks of pregnancy)
  


• Say whether you are pregnant with one baby or more
  


• Detect an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo implants outside of the womb, usually in the Fallopian tube.


• Find out the cause of any bleeding you may be having


• Accurately date your pregnancy by measuring your baby (however, nurse kat KK tu ckp, it is not really accurate because ralat adalah 2 minggu..besar tuh..the accurate way is by using ur first day of last period date..so gurls..jot down the date ok..jangan lupe!)
  


• Assess the risk of Down's syndrome by measuring fluid at the back of your baby's neck at 11-14 weeks (a scan know as nuchal translucency scan).


• Find out why a blood screening test was abnormal


• Assist in performing diagnostic tests, such as CVS or amniocentesis safely by showing the position of the baby and placenta.
  

• Examine your baby to see if all the organs have developed normally
  

• Diagnose certain abnormalities, such as spina bifida

• Assess the amount of amniotic fluid and locate the placenta.


• Measure your baby's rate of growth over several scans. (reason utama sy utk buat scan..nak make sure baby membesar =) )
  
  

those on italic are my own comments.