The problem with "keepsake" fetal ultrasound: ECRI and other medical professionals cite potential risks

An increasing number of businesses are using ultrasound scanners to provide expectant parents with souvenir pictures and videos of their fetuses, without any medical purpose. These "keepsake ultrasound" operations could have many negative effects: for example, they may cause hospitals to lose referrals, and they may create legal and regulatory problems both for the operators of the businesses and for the manufacturers and distributors that sell them their equipment; there is even the possibility that mothers or fetuses could suffer harm. ECRI and several other organizations oppose the practice, although efforts to stop or regulate it have had little impact so far.