Millions of women get ultrasounds/sonograms for keepsake photos. Yet, there is no data that shows any safe ultrasound frequency for making photos and videos of developing babies.

Over the past 50 years, ultrasounds/sonograms have risen to the level of routine, and so too did Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Today, most babies born in developed nations were subjected to ultrasound waves during their early neurological stages of growth. Yet, sonography has not been seriously evaluated as a cause of ASD.

ASD support groups and organizations focus on after-birth vaccinations as a cause, but it's more likely that ASD occurs pre-birth during neurological and gastrointestinal developmental stages. I mention both stages because children diagnosed with ASD tend to also have gastrointestinal problems.

I believe that the rise in ultrasound use is related to the rise in ASD.

As an obstetrician, I worked with thousands of mothers. Most demanded photos and videos of their unborn babies. Ironically, many of these women obsessed over the safety of eating tuna, cat care, food dyes... but ultrasounds? All they wanted to know was how soon and how many their insurance would pay for.

Historically, ultrasound is not rooted in creating keepsake photos of unborn babies: Neurosurgeons use ultrasound to kill cancerous brain cells. Sound waves pass through intact skulls to destroy cancer cells, thus eliminating craniotomies. Ultrasound is also used to treat kidney stones. Sonic waves disintegrate large stones, facilitating the passage of smaller stone fragments through urination, again avoiding major surgery. Outside of medicine, ultrasonic cleaners are used to clean intricate fine jewelry. Sonic waves create micro-vibrations and heat within the jewelry, which disturbs and sets free the dirt and debris that are attached to its surface.

This book examines ultrasound use in developed and developing nations along with the incidence of ASD in those countries. It also presents the positions of federal, state, medical and private organizations on fetal sonography whose opinions amount to, "There's no evidence of harm from ultrasound".

Our future children deserve better than no evidence of harm. They deserve proof that a certain ultrasound frequency has been studied at the cellular level and found not to disrupt the developing cells or their subsequent normal functions.

Until there's a scientific explanation for the rise of ASD in developed nations, there's nothing stopping reasonable adults from putting two facts together: The astronomical rise of ultrasound use corresponds to an astronomical rise in ASD.

During the current ASD epidemic in developed nations, which is vastly higher than levels in developing nations, is it wise to obtain photos of unborn babies when the most common procedure they're exposed to hasn't been ruled out as a cause of ASD?

Is there evidence of more harm than benefit by holding off on a sonogram?