The maternal perspective on prenatal ultrasound

BACKGROUND Most women in the United States will have a routine sonogram dur ing pregnancy. The medical necessity of this is debatable. The goal of our study was to examine maternal beliefs about prenatal sonography. METHODS We surveyed 150 prenatal patients at their paint of entry to matern ity care at a large military medical center. The main outcome measures were the patient's desire for a prenatal sonogram, the reasons for wanting a so nogram, the number of sonograms wanted, and the patient's willingness to pa y for the examination. RESULTS Of the 150 eligible subjects, 137 (91%) participated and 135 (98%) wanted a prenatal sonogram, Fifty-one (37%) of the respondents were willing to pay for the sonogram if it was not ordered by their provider. The reaso ns for wanting a sonogram (to determine the sex of the fetus, to ensure tha t the fetus was healthy, general maternal reassurance, and to ensure adequa te fetal growth) were similar across age, race, and income (military rank). CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that most women want a sonogram during preg nancy, and many are willing to pay for the examination. women appear to wan t sonograms for reasons that may not assist their provider with immediate c linical decision making. This is a potentially important disagreement bem e en cost-saving and patient satisfaction that maternity care providers must consider when deciding whether to perform prenatal sonography for women wit h low-risk pregnancies.