Prenatal informed consent for sonogram: an indication for obstetric ultrasonography.

Currently in the United States there is widespread agreement that obstetric ultrasonography should be performed when indicated, based on a beneficence-based calculus. However, there is considerable uncertainty that routine ultrasonography is similarly indicated for every pregnant woman. We argue that the standard of care demands that prenatal informed consent for sonogram be accepted as an indication for the prudent use of obstetric ultrasonography performed by qualified personnel. Prenatal informed consent for sonogram, a primarily autonomy-based indication, should be given the same weight in clinical judgment and practice as the beneficence-based indications listed by the National Institutes of Health consensus panel.