Shaking During Sonagram

I have never heard of that before. I would be concerned too. My doctors always gave me Ice Water to drink and the baby would wake right up.

Dear A.,
My daughter is now 1yr. old, when I was pregnant with her I had a sonagram and the lady did the same thing with moving my belly. My Dr. was wonderful and always told me how safe it was for my baby inside of me in fact he said that I could pretty much do anything while pregnant ( like swimming, exercise, ect...). I think you should be just fine. It is okay to worry sometimes but try just to stay healthy and that will be the best thing for both of you. I hope this helps.
S.

They baby was protected by the amniotic fluid

No, I don't think she could cause any harm to your baby. He's pretty protected in there. You're never supposed to shake a baby because their brains can easily be damaged when they hit against their skull, and they don't have the neck support to keep their head still. While you're baby is in your uterus, he's protected by you and all the fluid. Even though she was shaking pretty hard, I bet your baby barely felt it. What I’m trying to say, is I don’t think she could shake him hard enough to jerk his head in a way that would damage his brain or neck.

Hi A.,

I am the mother of three beautiful children and my mother was an OB/GYN nurse for years. The answer to your question is no...the baby can not be hurt by shaking your belly. The baby is protected by the amniotic fluid and the uterus--so he is very snug in there. That is probably why the first few shakes never bothered him--don't worry. He will be just fine. Good luck!

He's fine - he's in a cushioned room right now. They can get pretty physical in an attempt to make sure everything is ok - I'm sure she didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, and you can be absolutely certain your baby is fine.

Hi A.,
What everyone has said so far is correct. I want to add that the best way to wake a baby in utero is for mom to drink very cold juice. A few minutes later baby will likely be awake from the cold and the sugar. This is a trick that I use with my clients when they are being admitted to the hospital for delivery and they want to be off the monitors quickly and baby appears asleep.
Take care,
R.
Doula and Mother of Ben 16 yrs and Daniel 12 yrs

Hi A.,

How well I remember the sonogram. My first son was sleeping, too, and I recall the tech had to shake him up pretty well to get him to move positions. It was very uncomfortable for me (I had some deep bruising, believe it or not), and my son turned out just fine. The womb is a very safe place for little ones - the fluid and the muscles really protect them well. In fact, I was worried about falling during my pregnancy and the doctor told me that She's known women who have fallen directly on their tummies and the babies are usually just fine.

I wouldn't be too worried about it, but if you can't put it out of your mind, I'm sure your OB would be more than happy to talk to you about it.

Congratulations on your pending arrival! :-)

The fluid around him will protect him along with the uterin wall lineing I don't think you have anything to worry about. The reason your not suppost to shake a baby after there born is because their head is not supported and the brain will slosh back and forth hitting the back and front of the skull, injuring the brain. In side your womb the baby is supported by all the fluid and is protected.

There is so much amniotic fluid in there that she couldn't have done any damage. I am not a doctor but I've heard some pretty incredible stories of how our bodies protect our babies in utero.

C.
:)

They did the same thing to me when I was pregnant and my son is fine :) It is just to get the baby to move - even if they are just in a position that is not good for the ultrasound. They did it to me to get the baby to move to see if it was a boy or girl. So it's ok, she didn't hurt the baby :)

The doctor had to do that to me when I was expecting my oldest. It didn't hurt anything, and she still woke up very reluctantly. Remember, the baby is in a sack of water, so the shaking probably just sloshes the water around more than anything.

Hi A.,
When I was pregnant and went in for two of my sonograms, both of the ladies shook my tummy with that little device. I was so worried the first time they did it!! I freaked and asked her if that was going to hurt the baby. I actually got a little upset because that was my first thought. But she reassured me that it was fine. She reminded me that there was a barrier of thick skin (my skin) around another barrier (the womb) so it wasnt really hurting the baby. She reassured me that it looks worst on the monitor that what it really is. Then I went in for my amnio and when they did the sonogram before hand that lady did the same thing. I didnt freak that time. LOL I am more than sure your baby is ok. You said that he is moving ok so that is a very good sign. If you are very worried about it, you can always make an appointment with you doctor or wait until your next monthly appointment and bring that up. Then he can check your baby, hopefully with a sonogram so that way you can be very sure that your baby is alright.

Although I am not a doctor or any kind of expert- I really do not think they could shake your stomach enough to actually hurt your baby. The damage done to babies by shaking them occurs when there is severe shaking back and forth and their head flies back and forth which causes their brain to basically slam into the skull back and forth, over and over. Your baby is so snug in your uterus that I can't imagine it is even possible for their head to move that severely.

Still, if you are really concerned ask your doctor- and tell him/her that they should discuss this with their US technician. It would be better to reschedule someone than cause them such anxiety.

P.

I will just ditto Peggy on that response. Also, some women fall during pregnancy, and the babies are SO safe and protected by the uterus, it would really take some blunt force, and it would hurt you before the baby.
But, if you don't like her shaking during the ultrasound, I see nothing wrong with you asking her not to.

When people shake their children and cause damage it's not a little shake. It would have to be a very hard and violent shake in order to cause damage. But if you feel uneasy about it contact your OB/GYN and tell them and ask for a new sonogram tech.

I would call your doctor to talk with her to calm any fears you might have.

My sonographer did the same thing to me to get my baby to move around. He is a perfectly normal 1 yr old today! He has had no problems at all.

While your baby in in utero, he is protected by amniotic fluid and is completely protected, that is why it took so much jostleing to wake him up. As a matter of fact when you are active and are walking or jogging this activity will lull your baby to sleep.

I agree with everyone else in how your baby is SO protected. I've heard of this before and they had to do this with my second one to get him to move from a certain position he was in to do a measurement. Sometimes before you actually give birth if the baby has turned at all they have to really push on your tummy to get them to move and this is always fine as far as the health of the baby. Just an FYI, I've always heard to drink orange juice before a sonogram. I did this almost everytime I had an ultra sound and they always seemed to be really active.