The Morning Edition The private ultrasounds putting mothers and babies at risk
Apr 6, 2025
Henrietta Cook, a senior health reporter, reveals alarming truths about private reassurance ultrasounds. These scans, designed to ease anxiety during pregnancy, are linked to heartbreaking outcomes like stillbirths and misdiagnoses. She shares distressing stories of women facing dire consequences from unregulated clinics. Cook emphasizes the urgent need for regulation and the importance of seeking certified professionals to protect both mothers and their babies.
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Misdiagnosis Cases
- A woman's ectopic pregnancy was misdiagnosed as a miscarriage at a reassurance clinic.
- Twins died in utero after incorrect low-risk assessment at a substandard clinic.
Regulatory Grey Area
- Many reassurance ultrasound clinics operate in a grey area, employing staff without medical qualifications.
- They avoid regulations by claiming not to provide medical advice.
Unregulated Sonographers
- Sonographers in Australia are surprisingly unregulated by the national watchdog, ARPRA.
- While they register for Medicare, they lack the same oversight as other health practitioners performing ultrasounds.