The safety of ultrasound has been questioned in recent years but still no hard evidence that it does any harm. Some reports say that there are cell changes with ultrasound and that it is not good for the developing fetal brain.
But, ultraound is a medical procedure and not one that should be done because it is easy and readily available. Most women will have 1-3 scans during pregnancy. The first around 7-8 weeks, the next at 20 weeks and the last around the 34-35th week. (With my daughter I had 3 and with my son I had some problems and so had 6 or 7 - both are fine!)
If your pregnancy is healthy, there is no reason to get them often. Sometimes the sex of the baby is visible and sometimes not.
I think it's okay to listen to the baby's heartbeat but once again you are using doppler waves to do so. Also, I urge you to think twice about listening for the heartbeat because although it is a reassuring sound, sometimes it can be hard to find, or you'll hear your own instead and you'll worry for no reason. A lot of obstetricians would rather you just go to the office for a heartbeat check.
Also, the baby can hear both the ultrasound and the doppler and it sounds very loud to them. A lot of times they move away from the sound as they find it disturbing. Just something to think about.
In pregnancy, it is probably best to err on the side of caution. Your baby only gets one chance to grow properly. You will have a lifetime to look at him/her!
Here is a link to read about dopplers
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/557549.html
And here is a link about ultrasound
http://www.ob-ultrasound.net/
I hope this is helpful. Good luck with your pregnancy.
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