xrays and pregnancy

[bubbles4920]

what can xrays do to an unborn baby exactly? they always ask you if you are pregnant when you have an xray, if you didnt know you were, wonder if it could be detrimental?!

[redcrx]

xrays are radiation of some kind arent they. Even staff who work in xray departments can only work to a certain limit.

I dread to think what may happen to a feotus subjected to xray without protection. But would any pregnant woman offer to be a guinea pig for that kind of medical testing? I doubt it.

[Ice.Maiden]

The energy from an x-ray machine is ionising radiation, and that's why too great an exposure is dangerous. It penetrates soft tissue, bones and the lot, so lead aprons and guards are used to protect parts of the body from unwanted rays. Unfortunately, human experiments have been done with this type of radiation, and amongst side effects were crumbling bones, cancer, leukaemia and mutations. No one would want to subject a foetus to this hazardous stuff.

[bubbles4920]

so if you didnt know you were pregnant would you miscarry or have a deformed baby?

[Ice.Maiden]

Hi bubbles - the reason that women who need an x-ray are asked beforehand if they are, or could be pregnant, is because the rays are known to destroy the genetic information in cells, and can cause mutations and low birth weights. They effect rapidly dividing cells - such as in your hair - and in a foetus. If a person needed to have an x-ray done on their arm or leg, lead shields'd be put across the abdomen to give protection, but some people think that one quick exposure to radiation won't cause any harm at all, & that it's just repeated doses that does it. If you're about to have an x-ray & are, or could be pregnant, have a word with the radiologist first.

[Ice.Maiden]

Just must add that if a pregnant person finds herself in a situation where exposure to radiation is necessary (such as with cancer), then it might be best to have it done. A healthy mum is going to have a healthier baby, but if any of these things concern you, the best person to speak to would be a doctor or, as I said previously, a radiologist. Hope this answers your question a bit more.

[FUZZYBEE]

no not necessarily. We often x ray pregnant ladies when the risk to the mother outweighs the risk to the baby. Because when you take xrays the cone (beam) is directed exactly where you want it as long as it is pointed away from the baby as much as possible, we have recently found out in a study that even by putting a lead apron on mums tummy that the lead protection tends to retain the radiation rather than if she were not to have it and therefore allowing the tiny amount of radiation to scatter into the atmosphere.
I have also performed ct scans on heavily pregnant ladies when performing a CTPA agagin the radiation is aimed at the mums chest area and rotation has stopped before the tummy.
We would try to avoid x rays as much as possible in the early stages of pregnancy when the baby is developing.
You have to put it into perspective and think about how many pregnant Radiographers there have been/are whom have given birth to perfectly normal babies, even though the stand behind screens there is still radiation in the atmosphere we they are working for 12 hour days.