X-ray examination during pregnancy

Radiation during pregnancy

• Effect of X-ray irradiation on the embryo until the second week of development obeys the “All or Nothing” law, in which either the death of the fetus occurs, or it develops normally, without pathologies. During scientific experiments, it was found that the death of the embryo occurs already at a dose of 10 Rad; if the dose is 1 gray, the death of the embryo occurs in 50%.
• A dose of X-ray radiation less than 10 Rad in the period from the 3rd to the 12th week of development, as a rule, does not reveal fetal malformations. The critical threshold is exceeding the radiation dose of 10 Rad. In the second trimester and third trimester with a radiation dose of more than 25 Rad, intrauterine growth retardation may occur, abnormalities of the nervous system may develop, and premature birth may occur.

All X-ray diagnostic studies are carried out only after agreement with an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Consequences of radiation

The effects of radiation depend on several factors:

• type of radiation,
• timing and duration of exposure to radiation,
• dose multiplicity (at 1 time),
• individual tolerance of the body,

Radiation exposure of the fetus does not lead to the formation of a specific developmental abnormality, but results in an increase in the number of developmental defects that are multifactorial

Today, the radiation doses used during X-ray diagnostics are hundreds of times lower than those that can harm the development of the fetus.

Diagnostics X-ray and radiation doses received

Procedure Dose of irradiation of the uterus and fetus