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. Ethics is defined as the disciplined study of morality. Two fundamental principles of ethics are described, beneficence and respect for autonomy. 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.