Can a pregnant woman have a CT scan safely?

Answer 1

It won't harm the pregnant woman. It WILL, however, hurt your unborn fetus. Depending how far along you are in your pregnancy and which body part is imaged will determine how much it will possibly interfere with your fetus' development.

For example, if you were to get a CT scan of your brain, then your abdomen area would be shielded and your baby would be pretty well protected from any errant radiation as it is not in the primary radiation beam.

If you were to get a CT scan of your abdomen, however, this would more than likely only happen in an extreme emergency situation as the dose to your unborn fetus would be great and it would surely disrupt his development. To what degree, no one really knows. It would also depend on how many weeks pregnant you are. The farther along that you are, the better the outcome in lessening your chance of significant damage to your unborn child. Radiation DOES kill cells. While we can regrow cells, sometimes (in development) those cells cannot be replaced if they were being formed at a critical time in the babies development.

Any radiation study being requested on a pregnant female should always be questioned as to the importance of the study and can any other test be done first. You and your doctor must outweigh the risks and benefits before undergoing a radiation test while pregnant.

Answer 2

If you are getting a CT scan, I hope that you are not pregnant!

CT (CAT) Scans use multiple xrays to create a 3-D picture of the body region being scanned. If you are having your abdomen and pelvis done, this would include the uterus.

In the medical field, we always check women of child-bearing age for pregnancy prior to a CT scan since xrays are harmful to a growing fetus.

To directly answer the question though, yes, a CT scan could show a pregnancy if it is far enough along, just like ultrasound, which is not harmful to the fetus and why ultrasound (sonography) is it is the imaging test of choice for pregnancy.

-A.T. (ER Resident)

Answer 3

A CAT or CT scan does use a fairly significant amount of X-rays to generate the image; pregnant women are advised to avoid CT scans simply because X-Rays can harm the unborn child by causing it genetic damage.

Answer 4

CAT (CT) scan uses the X-rays and the foetus should never be exposed to the X-rays. The CAT scan of the head may be done after the first trimester of the pregnancy. The decision has to be taken by the treating physician. The whole abdomen and chest has to be covered by the lead sheet. But the procedure can not be guaranteed to be safe.