You’re Invited! Ultrasound Parties a Rising Trend in New Motherhood

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by Stacie Bailey | on January 4th, 2013 | 4 comments

Photo Credit: Maron

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes ultrasound parties? To add to the list of memorable events that come with building a family, new mothers are now sharing their ultrasound experience at home with guests looking on.

What would usually be an event taking place in a chilly doctor’s office with limited space is now at the forefront of pregnancy trends with moms bringing the experience to their livingrooms. With the help of new technology, 29-year-old Kimberly Enderle of Rodgers, Ark. and her husband, Jonathon, were able to invite their loved ones over to share their joy in watching and listening to their unborn baby boy in the comfort of their own home.

“Gender reveal is probably the bulk of our work,” Teena Gold, co-owner of Babyface & More said, referring to parties where parents and guests find out the gender of the unborn baby together in real time. “It’s more of an experience and less of an in-and-out procedure,” she added, pointing out that medical ultrasound often does not allow parents to savor the wonder of the life growing inside them.

Companies like Peek a View and Miracles Imagining are helping expectant parents across the nation turn their scheduled procedure into a social gathering. However, not everyone feels the concept is a good one. OB/GYN of Bentonville, Ark., Dr. Amber Sills, points out the risk of sharing the very first ultrasound with friends and something being wrong with the baby. She recommends parents go through the procedure with a doctor first before scheduling such events.

“If the ultrasonographer at the party sees something irregular during the scan, they will likely not say anything due to the potential legal implications,” she said. “It’s kind of a liability nightmare.”

For these reasons, doctors often prefer to perform the procedure after they have confirmed that everything is going smoothly with the pregnancy.

Read the complete article on NBC’s Today site.

BMWK– What are your thoughts on ultrasound parties? Would you be interested in hosting one or do you think it’s doing too much?

About the author

Stacie Bailey is a recent graduate of Quinnipiac University with a master’s degree in Interactive Communications. She has strong interests in relationships, health, social media and an overall love for sharing knowledge and information.

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Comments (4)

sixathome Friday - 04 / 01 / 2013 Reply

Gross! The ultra sound is not a necessary part of pregnancy. It may in fact do more harm than good. So, to INVITE folks to the event is sheer insanity. It amounts to nothing more than the corporate brainwashing that mothers to be are nothing more than another sector to exploit and when mothers buy in it shows their sheep mentality. They need to think more of their child and family and less of their peer group and shopping agenda. Get a midwife!
Katrina Williams Friday - 04 / 01 / 2013 Reply

I TOTALLY DISAGREE with "sixathome". Its not gross at all. Its more of a bonding moment with your unborn. I had an ultrasound with all four of my kids and nothing harm them. No its not a necessary part of the pregnancy but it one of the good perks. I would have LOVE to do it!!! Because at the doctor office you can have only 2 people and they had to be 18 years old or older. This way all 4 of my kids, my mother and his mother could have been there!!
Arnice Friday - 04 / 01 / 2013 Reply

When I was pregnant with our first son back in 2004, we had a 4-D ultrasound done along with some of our close family members present. It was after we had already had our office ultrasound done with the doctor. I am glad we had that experience and had family there. It has been the only time that we were all together in one city and I am glad that those family members were able to be a part of it. It was definitely a bonding experience and we all loved being able to see our little one healthy and sucking his thumb. I see nothing wrong with it.
Shanté Friday - 18 / 01 / 2013 Reply

Some of my family lives an hour away. When the ultrasound tech asked if I wanted a copy of the ultrasound on dvd, I was excited. That allowed all of my family to see the lil baby growing in my belly. I don't see anything gross about ultrasounds.