X-Rays During Pregnancy
X-rays can hurt an unborn baby. More than 5,000 millirads (or 5 rads) of radiation from X-rays before birth can cause birth defects. The X-rays might affect the baby's genes. They could cause leukemia. The baby is most at risk between the 8th and 15th weeks of pregnancy.
Most X-rays give much smaller doses of radiation. There is no general X-ray test that gives 5,000 millirads of radiation. For example, during an X-ray of the legs, only 1 millirad is absorbed.
Even if only a small amount of radiation may be absorbed by your baby, you should try to avoid getting X-rays when you are or might be pregnant. The only exception is if the X-ray is needed to test for a serious medical problem that could affect the pregnancy or your health. For example, you might have an X-ray to examine a broken bone, check for pneumonia, or look for kidney stones.
X-ray technologists may ask when you had your last menstrual period or check with a pregnancy test before taking an X-ray. When taking an X-ray, the technologist should put a lead apron over your belly to protect the baby. However, this may not be possible if the apron will cover the area that needs to be seen with the X-rays.
There may be other ways to check a part of your body without X-rays. For example, ultrasound machines do not use radiation. Often an ultrasound scan can be done instead of an X-ray. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also does not use radiation. CT scans do use radiation.
Ask your healthcare provider any questions you have about the use of X-rays during pregnancy.
