X-ray when pregnant (pls help anyone :( ?)

[Misswhoshallnotbenamed]

Hey all,

I am sorry I am posting in here.... I posted in the pregnancy forum a few weeks ago but haven’t had much joy.

Was hoping maybe some radiographers/radiologists would pick this up or even mums who have experienced this.

I unfortunately had an abdominal X-ray when unknowingly pregnant (around 3-4w). I have read soooo many bad things on the internet (especially that 2-8w the fetus is very sensitive to the effects of radiation) and even the docs didn’t put my mind at ease as they didn’t sound too confident in what they were saying.

This is my first child and it’s meant to be exciting and happy but all I feel is anxiety and scared and just deflated that I am in this situation :(

Just wanted any positive stories of ppl who had X-rays during their pregnancy (especially in the first trimester) or any radiographers who have known patients to be pregnant and their outcomes... I don’t know just anything to give me a bit of hope :(

Thanks in advance x

@AlphaBetaZeta thank you for replying . Are the risks the same for CT scan ? I know it's like having hundreds on xrays so it really worries me.
In my case it was head CT but I feel like more of me was in the machine not just the head.

The CT scanner is massive yes, but the actual beam size is small which is why the table has to move during the scan to image the whole head. The radiographers are highly trained and will not have scanned any more of you than was required, and this is the same for any patient as there is a duty to keep the radiation dose as low as reasonably practicable. As the foetus was well outside the direct beam of radiation, the only radiation which could even reach it would be a very small amount of scattered radiation 😊 in your case the risk to the baby would have been the same order of magnitude as for a standard head X-ray, I.e. less than one in a million.

I had a X-ray of my leg when 8 months pregnant with my twins- they are both healthy and nothing happened.

@AlphaBetaZeta thank you very much for all the information. I am sure many people will find this helpful .
I am reassured .

Pregnant women used to be routinely X-rayed before ultrasound was available. Obviously that doesn't mean that it's a great idea or anything, but the fact that they didn't immediately notice a problem and stop doing it means that the majority of babies will be perfectly fine.

@AlphaBetaZeta thank you so so much for commenting I have been worried sick but trying so hard not to be because I don’t want that to have an effect aswell.. I had treatment to have my first baby and didn’t think I’d have another so was absolutely gutted when I realised I’d put this pregnancy at risk.. Do you know much about the dexa scan machines that test for osteoporosis- it was to scan my hips and spine to check bone density. I felt it would be putting radiation onto my abdomen or womb. Also does it make a difference as to when the scan was- I just kept reading that the first trimester is the most delicate time xx

Hi @Eimz90 yes I certainly do know about DEXA 😊 although your pelvis was in the scan region, very low doses of radiation are required to perform the analysis because rather than creating a high quality image of the anatomy for a radiologist to review, this technique compares the relative absorption of two different X-ray energies to calculate the density of the bone in that region. The radiation dose to the foetus would be negligible and again the only risk would be of childhood cancer, again with an additional risk of less than 1 in a million compared with a baseline risk in the UK of ~ 1 in 500.

I hope that the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly for both you and @Pregnantandvworried, and that you enjoy it!

I fell & broke all my fingers when I was 35 weeks pregnant & had to have Xrays. Ds was fine when he was born unlike me who had to labour & then have a C section with my hand in a splint.

@AlphaBetaZeta thank you so so much.

hope everything goes good for you @Pregnantandvworried <3

@Nat6999 thanks so much for your comment <3

Thank you everyone for the support and words of reassurance.
Good luck with your pregnancy @Eimz90

Hello. It's been quite some time but how did all turn out for you? I had a lower spine x-ray at 3-4 weeks of pregnancy and I so much worried