title: Use of 'non-medical' ultrasound imaging before mid-pregnancy in Copenhagen.
abstract: We have investigated prospectively how many pregnant women purchase ultrasound imaging before week 20, why they purchase scans, and which professional skills and certifications women expect the person performing the scan to have. In addition, we wanted to investigate whether the women were aware of any professional authorization procedures. Women attending the second trimester malformation scan of the Danish Prenatal Screening Program (n = 645) filled in a questionnaire about their use of non-medical ultrasound scans. Of these women, 154 (24%) had bought ultrasound scans: 50% wanted to have the fetal health and development checked and 49% wanted to find out the gender of the fetus. In addition, 68% felt that they received an evaluation of the fetal health state and 58% believed that there was legislation demanding a professional authorization needed to perform ultrasound imaging. This study shows that there is a significant demand among pregnant women for commercial ultrasound imaging of their fetus for various reasons. Knowledge of certifications and requirements for legal authorization is, however, sparse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.
authors.forename: Tine J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Thorup
authors.forename: Helle
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zingenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003718:Denmark; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012648:Self Care / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018581:Technology Transfer; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Pregnancy; fetal; fetal diagnostics; non-medical scans; prenatal; ultrasound