Prenatal Risks
Prenatal Radiation Exposure
In early pregnancy the cells of the unborn child are diving rapidly, and large doses of radiation can be hazardous. Therefore pregnant women should avoid exposure to x-rays if at all possible. If you've had x-rays then later discovered that you were pregnant, it's understandable you would be concerned. The good news is that according to the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), a unborn child exposed to 1 rem of radiation has less than one chance in a thousand of suffering birth defects as a result of the exposure, even if exposed during the most critical stages of development (3 to 8 weeks of pregnancy). The "natural" risk of congenital defect is much greater than any potential added risk from the x-rays.
Although the risk of radition exposure to your baby during the below circumstances are relatively low, you should always be wary of receiving any radition exposure while you are pregnant and should always consult with your doctor before getting any sort of x-ray. Low risk exposures are:
- dental x-rays, even without a lead apron
- diagnostic x-rays of the head, spine, chest or abdomen
- barium enema
- IVP
- living near a nuclear power plant
- working as an x-ray technologist (following good radiation safety guidelines)
- x-rays to the fathers testicles just prior to conception
According to AAPM, "...both the American College of Radiology and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have adopted a policy that rarely if ever is termination of pregnancy advisable because of the radiation risk arising from diagnostic x-ray examinations."
Source of Technical Information: "A Primer on Low-Level Ionizing Radiation and Its Biological Effects," Published for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine by the American Institute of Physics, AAPM Report No. 18, 335 E. 45th Street, NY, NY 10017, 1986. For more information on Pregnancy and Radiation, visit the Health Physics Society.