Michigan mother raises concerns with non-diagnostic prenatal ultrasound business
A Michigan mom is receiving backlash from local healthcare organizations after opening a non-diagnostic ultrasound business for expectant mothers this month, the Record Eagle of Traverse City, Michigan, has reported.
Jessica Thorne, who holds a degree in special education from Michigan State University but has no medical instruction herself, opened Precious Moments HD Ultrasound Studio after moving to Traverse City, where such services weren’t available. She’d gotten elective, non-medical ultrasounds of her first three children years before; her fourth will likely be imaged at her own studio.
“Seeing it can feel very surreal,” she told the Record Eagle. “It can feel quite miraculous. They get to see the baby in 3D or 4D.”
Customers can book an appointment with Thorne, bring their whole family in and watch the ultrasound on a projector from a cozy gray couch. Sessions cost between $65 and $155.
Thorne said her business isn’t meant to be a replacement for a medical service or official prenatal ultrasound—but local practitioners are worried that might not be how it’s perceived.
“They are really not recommended [for non-clinical purposes],” Mary Schubert, executive director for Women’s and Children’s Services at Munson Healthcare in Traverse City, said. “We would not support their use for entertainment purposes. There’s no evidence to say that exposure to the ultrasound itself would cause harm, but we would not recommend doing that, because we don’t know.”
Read the full story from the Record Eagle below:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.