Ct-scan And 3 Xray Pictures - 3 Weeks Pregnant (Page 1)

I can't speak personally but a very close friend of mine had several scans done while she was pregnant (one was at 20 weeks I think) and she was warned that there was a very small chance her baby could be damaged but that they really couldn't tell in what way. She had to have the scans done because there was a chance she'd have a brain haemmorrage. As it was, her little girl is now nearly 2 years old and perfectly fine.

I found this at :http://www.Hps.Org/publicinformation/ate/ q374.Html

.Q: I am in my eighth week of pregnancy. In the beginning of my pregnancy, around two weeks, I had some abdominal x rays and a ct scan done of my abdomen. I've read that the damage from the abdominal x ray is minimal, but what about the ct scan? What possible damage can occur (if any) from that?
A: we told the person asking this question that the conceptus dose from such a ct examination is between 12 mgy and 30 mgy (1.2 rad and 3 rad) according to exposure of the pregnant patient to diagnostic radiations, (medical physics publishing, madison, wisconsin). However, we cautioned her that the precise dose depends on the machine and techniques used, the size of the patient, etc. We pointed out that the national council on radiation protection, 1977, said: "the risk [of abnormaility] is considered to be negligible at 5 rad or less when compared to other risks of pregnancy, and the risk of malformations is significantly increased above control levels only at doses above 15 rad. Therefore, exposure of the fetus to radiation arising from diagnostic procedures would very rarely be cause, by itself, for terminating a pregnancy." we suggested that she get specific information on the dose to the conceptus from the procedure she had and, that if she had any further questions, she personally contact our expert on radiation exposures during pregnancy. Her reply to us was: "thank you so much for the information! I feel very reassured. I was searching all over the web looking for information on cts during pregnancy and found nothing until I found your site. "

genevieve s. Roessler, phd
editor, hps web site


speak to your doctor if you are worried.


Best of luck!

I read your questions and feel the same way. I just had a ct scan done on my abdomin and was told there were more problems with my right ovarie and they wanted to remove it. The day i went in for surgery they took another pregnancy test and this time it came up positive. That means i was pregnant at the time of the scan but it just didn't show yet. I obviously cancelled my surgery but am very worried about the affects the scan would of had on the baby. If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.

I recently just found out I was pregnant! I had a ct scan of my abdomen and was unaware that I was pregnant at the time. I'm not sure how far along i am just yet. I still have to see my OB. I'm just concerned if the ct scan could of harmed my fetus in anyway!? If anyone has experienced something similar to this please post your story for a piece of mind. Thx

My sister live in Cuba and she had also a CT Scan (Lumbar) done during her 3 to 4 week of pregnancy.

She is really worried and I do not know how to help her out.

Please any advise?

Thank you
Eli

Hi there

The following article by Steve Ford appeared in the Nursingtimes.net in May 2008

The safety of magnetic resonance imaging for nurses and other staff is to be investigated by the Health Protection Agency.
The agency said that it had approved ‘in principle’ the need for an epidemiological study of possible adverse effects from high static field MRI imaging machines, due to lack of current evidence.

It is expected to carry out the research as part of an international collaborative study on behalf of the World Health Organization. The HPA, which will lead the work, said it was now assessing the study’s feasibility with the aim of launching it as soon as possible.
‘The exposures to patients and medical staff from the magnetic fields can be high and there is a shortage of information on possible adverse long-term health effects,’ said HPA chairperson Sir William Stewart.
The announcement follows a report from the agency’s independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation.

The group’s chairperson, Professor Anthony Swerdlow, said: ‘There is a pressing need for a well-conducted study of mortality and cancer incidence in workers with high occupational exposures to static magnetic fields, particularly those associated with medical MRI scanners.’

If there is a danger for staff behind protective shielding, I have a fair idea that the patients, who are NOT protected, might be endangered as well.

Mobile phones, too, are reported as a causal factor in the formation of tumors in the brain because of electro-magnetic radiation.

Good luck

Kinetico

?experienced user? Post was done in 2009 and with bad information. Nurses in MRI scan room or area? Why? Nursed don't perfrom the scan, technicians do.

Static Magnetic Field does not go beyond about 3-5 metres from the magnet. So the static magnetic field ends when you leave the scan room. The control room where the technician sits has NO magnetic field. If it did then metallic objects would be flying to the scanner.

Cell Phones: visible light is also an electro-magentic radiation. Cell phones I guess use microwave radiation but compared to visible light they have less energy. Check electromagnetic radiation spectrum with radiowaves (least energy) < microwave < infrared < visible light < ultraviolet < x-rays < gamma rays (most energy). All EMR travel at the speed of light, it is the wavelength that determines energy strength.

I just found out that I am about 5-6wks pregnant and i had a CT scan done 2 wks ago were I was injected with radiation. What kind of affects can this have on my baby?

A patient in her 8weeks pregnancy had a head injury. Is ct head in 8 weeks pregnancy harmful?

I was reading the posts and first I wanted to see if everything turned out ok so far for everyone that had a ct scan, esp abdominal/pelvic ct scans.
I went in for a CT scan last week because of severe stomach pain and I took a pregnancy test first because I wasn't sure but it was negative. My Dr. ordered an abdominal and pelvic CT. I went in for the test and two days later my pregnancy test showed up positive, so I was almost 4 weeks pregnant!!
I am trying to get the radiologist at the hospital to give me an idea of the amount of radiation I was exposed too but they have to contact a physicist to get the exact amount which could take up to two weeks!
From everything I have read the damage to the fetus is very slight under 50mGy. The average for both tests though can range from 25mgy - 100my (which is a big difference). Does anyone know the approximate amount of radiation used in most hospitals for both tests and were you able to get this information directly from your radiologists if you had the tests done. It seems they should be able to give me some sort of range instead of making me wait in agony for two weeks.
Thank you!

I have read many of the posts on this website and I understand everyone's concerns. I had a CAT Scan done on my head because I had a tooth infection that I have been fighting for almost 2 yrs (finally had the tooth removed after going to several specialist and finding that it was a bad root canal). Throughout this process though, I have had many xrays and now the CAT scan where they also injected the radiation into me. I took a pregnance test before all of this happened and it came up negative but it has still been 50 days since my last period and I am concerned if I am pregnant the effects on the fetus. My husband's mother passed away at a very young age of 30 and I know that his grandmother had some type of trauma that she had multiple xrays done...I still wonder if that is what caused the cancer in her now that they have discovered that xrays do have some type of effect but I don't think it is clear exactly what.

I'm scared too. I told the hospital I could be pregnant and went in for a Shoulder injury. Since Target was paying the hospital bill they gave me a CT scan and about 10 other x-rays of back, neck, shoulders lumbar... Well, now I'm pregnant. I was probably 4 weeks along when they did all of this and I had no Idea that this could possible cause mental retardation. They didn't tell me and they knew I could be pregnant... well now I am... and I am very scared.

Hi everybody,

I had a CT scan (without contrast) for my kidney tone about 40 days ago, will that have any negtive effect on my wife, as we plan to have a child? Thanks for any help.

The maximum equivalent dose to the fetus for a CT Abd/Pel is 6mSv(600mRem). With modern CT scanners this dose is typically much less. According to Duke University there is no known association of risk to a fetus at these doses. That being said, the first trimester is the most susceptible to radiation exposure due to rapid cell growth and proliferation. As a response to the last question, CT dose to the epidymus rarely effects sperm. The life cycle of sperm from origin to death is anywhere from 42 to 70 days. Any sperm harmfully effected by radiation would almost certainly die, just like any fetus effected by radiation would most likely lead to a miscarriage. Just remember all radiation exposure is cummulative over your entire lifetime and properly performed CT Scans and Diagnostic X-rays add very little to your total dose in the long term.

Can anyone update us on their pregnancies and how they went? How are the kids?

I just had an abdominal CT done and I am 14 weeks pregnant. I had several appendicitis symptoms (rebound pain, increased WBC count) and the ultrasound was negative, so the OB on call said that the amount of radiation that would effect the baby would be the equivalent of 80 scans- and she would have one if she was in the situation. Now I'm worried that it could have an impact on my baby. I've seen things on the internet that say that the impact could be neurological between 8-14 weeks pregnant, but I can't find actual medical sources saying it. Needless to say, I'm worried. Can anyone verify what I should look for in my baby? Thank you!

Demand to know by the hospital! I had a CT scan of my pelvis at 7 weeks didn't know I was pregnant. My Son is 4 1/2 years old and he has some nuro issues. Do you think anyone is going to tell you the truth.

Hi,

I am 12 weeks. I had to have a ct scan done on my head today. They covered my belly and back with a safety vest.I asked the doct he said it would not do any damages to the baby.. But i am still worry!!!! Any body had have a ct scan done with vest and gave birth? if was everything okay?
Thank you so much

I had a ct.scan of my throat 5 days before mensuration.Now Iam confirmed as pregnant. iam 31 years old. this is my first pregnancy. Is the scan harmfull

I had a ct.scan of my throat 5 days before mensuration.Now Iam confirmed as pregnant. iam 31 years old. this is my first pregnancy. Is the scan harmfull

I had a ct scan when I was about 20 weeks pregnant with my son. I didn't want it, but they thought I had a blood clot. Anyway, they covered my pelvis, but I still worry about it, even though he is 3 1/2 and perfectly healthy. I wonder about his risk for cancer when he is older. The good news, however, is that he is fine thus far.

Im 14 and a half weeks pregnant, and a few days ago had to have an xray on my chest, the lady who done this didnt get everything in the first time so was called back for a second one, i was then asked for a emergency ct scan as they thought i might have a blood clot, they covered my back on the xrays and my back and stomach on ct, has any1 else had this and what was the outcome be truthfull please, im worried about the affects it has had on my baby.

Hi, I too had an abdominal CT scan when I was 3 weeks pregnant. I had taken a pregnancy test which was negative, but 2 weeks later I took a test and it was positive. I then had an ultraosund to confirm, since I had been previously informed that I was infertile (!!!). I was indeed pregnant and the fetus would have been 1 week old at the time of the CT scan.
I received advice from the hopsital physicist who calculated the level of radiation to be well under the threshold safe dose, in fact he likened it to flying from sweden to australia. He said there is no reason to terminate the pregnancy, so I kept the baby. She is now my healthy infant.
Please get advice relating to YOUR exact CT scan from the same hospital physicist that did the scan, get them to calculate the radiation and tell you your dose versus the safety threshold level, then you can make a well informed decision.
good luck