“Ultrasound” parties are a new hit among expectant mothers in the United States.
Traditionally, ultrasound was used to detect various disorders or deformities or to estimate the weight of the fetus, rather than for entertainment.
Couples expecting the birth of a child rent an ultrasound at home and invite friends. Together with them, they then look at the future baby on the screen, but also drink or eat snacks. NBC News reported about it on its website.
For example, twenty-nine-year-old Kimberly Enderle from the city of Rogers, Arkansas, did not miss the opportunity to show off her unborn child recently. Apart from the presence of two women in lab coats and ultrasound machines, the party was in no way different from other similar gatherings. “It’s an opportunity for us to see those toes again,” said Enderle, who will give birth in February.
As guests gathered around two monitors, they viewed the embryo and speculated about, for example, whose nose it was. The laudatory comments were interrupted only by the sincerity of the three-year-old future brother. “He looks like a monster. But I like monsters,” he said.
Baby Face and More offers the service in Arkansas. It was founded by Teena Goldová and Christy Fosterová, as soon as they saved up for a high-quality mobile ultrasound. Now they allow people to see their future child for 100 to 350 dollars (1900 to 6650 crowns). It is up to the future parents whether they invite guests.
“Most often, we reveal to people the gender of their child,” Goldová pointed out, adding that this also happens in front of the guests. But it wasn’t such an exciting experience for the Enderle family, they already knew they were expecting a boy before meeting their friends at the ultrasound. “It’s more of an experience than a medical procedure,” says Goldová. Similar services are offered by companies elsewhere in the United States, for example in Florida or California. But some experts don’t like it very much.
“What if, for example, they start with the ultrasound and the baby’s heart is not beating? Or the fetus does not yet have a developed skull and brain. It happens more often than most people would think,” noted gynecologist Amber Sillsová. She added that ultrasound was traditionally used more to detect various disorders or deformities or to estimate the weight of the fetus, and not for entertainment.
