New foetal screening test risky for older mothers - Two leading London consultant obstetricians deplored the use of chorion villus sampling the new, earlier screening test for Down's syndrome on older w...

Transient ischaemic attacks - Q I’ve just had what my doctors call a ‘transient ischaemic attack, or TIA. For about 20 minutes, my sight blurred and dimmed, and I lost my hearing a...

Ultrasound tests - The mainstay of modern obstetric diagnosis is the ultrasound scan (or sonography). Similar to radar, real-time scanners employ very-high-frequency pul...

Breast ultrasound - I have lumpy breasts, but I am loathe to have a mammogram because of doubts about its safety and accuracy. My doctor has recommended that I go for a...

Fetal ultrasound: delayed speech - Ultrasound scanning of pregnant women may cause their children to have delayed speech development, according to a Canadian study. ...

Ultrasounds and brain damage - New findings support the belief that ultrasound has the capacity to damage unborn babies (BMJ, 17 July 1993). ...

Fetal monitoring doesn't benefit baby or mum - Neither healthy women in labour nor their babies derive any benefit from electronic fetal monitor (EFM) on admission to hospital. ...

Ultrasound: more doubts raised - Yet another study confirms that routine ultrasound examination of normal women is of no benefit and the technique should be restricted to high-risk pr...