Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes

[canadian_angel]

Originally Posted by snoopy

Tom Cruise went from being the #3 most popular actor in the US to #156 on the heels of his erratic behavior recently. Go figure!

That's it? I was expecting 300 or worse (If that's even possible).

[Google]

 

[psucashcow]

Originally Posted by Broadway

Heh.. i just saw that on yahoo, syd. Aren't those unsafe when done too frequently?? I know most doctors won't do more than two, if that, any longer (or so my child-rearing friends have told me. )

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/.../people_cruise

I guess Tom, while digesting books about psychiatry being a farce, also read manuals on how to perform and read ultrasounds/sonagrams. I would love for someone to photoshop an ultrasound of the baby giving Tom the finger.

As for the buzzing machine, maybe the baby when born won't bond with Tom or Katie, but will develop an instant affinity for the electric razor.

[Citizen Kaos]

This couple is so freakin wierd. She's always smiling at him like a 10 year old girl with a crush and he's always grabbing her neck-in a wierd way-and looks like anyway, forcibly kissing her.

The way he talks and acts about women he's in love with-it's just strange.

I really started to dislike him after all the post-partum depression talk-like he knows more than any woman about that. Yeah-he's been pregnant so many times-he should know. Sheesh!!

[canadian_angel]

i've read that ultrasounds ARE safe as long as you're trained in using them. but that if you're just "some person" using it, you could actually put the baby at risk.
let's hope tom is now a trained doctor.

[Broadway]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10309963/

Obstetricians across the country are hoping that Tom Cruise will decide to back out of his latest acting gig — ultrasound technician.

In a recent television interview for Barbara Walters' annual show on the year’s most fascinating people, Cruise said he has purchased an ultrasound machine to use during the pregnancy of girlfriend Katie Holmes.

He said medical technicians are helping the couple use the device and that they will donate it to a hospital after the baby is born.

Ultrasounds, or sonograms, have been widely used during pregnancy since the 1970s. To obtain images of the fetus, obstetricians or technicians — many of whom complete 18 months of training in the practice — use a transducer to send a stream of high-frequency sound waves into the body and detect their echoes as they bounce off internal structures. The sound waves are then converted to electric impulses that are processed to form an image displayed on a computer monitor.

Safety concerns
Sonograms have become standard practice in many obstetrics practices to help doctors and parents learn important information about the fetus before birth, including size, position in the uterus and even the presence of some birth defects.

Experts say no significant health risks to a baby who has undergone ultrasound at the low levels approved for obstetrics use have been shown. According to the Food and Drug Administration, which must approve ultrasound devices before they are sold in the United States, the only consistent finding has been a slight increase in left-handedness among boys.

But according to the American College of Radiology, which offers guidelines on sonography, laboratory studies have shown that some levels of ultrasound can produce physical effects in tissue, such as vibrations and a rise in temperature, especially when used for a prolonged period of time.

In response to Cruise’s personal tech acquisition, the ACR issued a release saying the group supports the view of the FDA that fetal ultrasound be performed only for medical purposes, by certified technologists and with a prescription from a physician.

ACR president Dr. Carol Rumack says she is concerned that a potential problem could be missed or that something routine could be misinterpreted as a problem, causing unneeded worry for the parents. Another worry is that the fetus could be exposed to a greater intensity of sound waves than recommended.

The FDA says that while prenatal sonograms are generally done at very low power levels, current machines, which range in price from $15,000 to $200,000, can produce sound wave intensities eight times higher than a decade ago and at that level, especially if used for prolonged periods, there could be a real risk to the developing fetus.

"We have no idea what kind of machine Tom Cruise purchased,’’ says Dr. Joshua Copel, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Yale University.

The actor’s publicist says Cruise has no further comment on the matter.

Not just "for fun"
The FDA has investigated non-medically supervised ultrasound exams over the last few years because of the proliferation of "sonogram studios," many in shopping malls across the country with names such as "Fetal Fotos" and "Womb with a View."

In fact, Cruise’s purchase may even be illegal. In 2002, the FDA said that anyone conducting ultrasound testing without a medical prescription from a physician is breaking the law.

But doctors also acknowledge that Cruise’s purchase is likely just anticipation run amok. "I think his decision is well-intentioned, but misguided,’’ says Dr. Michel Ross, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. "Using the equipment for fun is not what it’s intended for.’’

Copel agrees: "If Mr. Cruise and Ms. Holmes want their child to be a film star, they should wait until he or she is born."

I think it's interesting that increased ultrasounds have shown an increase in lefthandedness in boys. That's odd.. I wonder what causes that?

And good to see his new publicist is being put to good usage.... TC has no more comment on the situation, especially considering it might be illegal. Idiot.

[lildago]

The left-handedness thing is odd. I'll have to dig around on that one.

I'd love for Tom to respond to this report. It'd be interesting to see how he justifies it.

[DesertRose]

He'd probably say doctors are being glib and that he's studied medicine and it's all fine.

[applesauce]

Grrr. My opinion of TC just gets lower and lower. Leave it to the professionals. There is no need for him to be using an ultrasound machine.

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by Citizen Kaos

This couple is so freakin wierd. She's always smiling at him like a 10 year old girl with a crush and he's always grabbing her neck-in a wierd way-and looks like anyway, forcibly kissing her.

It IS weird how he kisses her. I thought I was the only one that felt like that. It's like he's an alien trying to suck out her life force or something.

[rt1ky]

Originally Posted by DesertRose

He'd probably say doctors are being glib and that he's studied medicine and it's all fine.

I was thinking the same thing. We don't know the history of sonograms and I'm sure he's read up on it.