Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
-
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol · Jan 1991
Ethics, an emerging subdiscipline of obstetric ultrasound, and its relevance to the routine obstetric scan.
Ethics is an emerging subdiscipline of obstetric ultrasound because there are clinical dimensions of obstetric ultrasound that only ethics can identify and address. These dimensions concern the ethical obligations of physicians to their patients. ⋯ How ethics can bring to light clinical dimensions of obstetric ultrasound that are insufficiently appreciated is illustrated with the example of the routine use of obstetric ultrasound in the second trimester. The authors conclude that prenatal informed consent for sonogram should be an integral part of obstetric care in countries, such as the United States, in which routine ultrasound is not endorsed.