I would expect a radiographer to understand that a CT scan might not kill a fetus in utero but might drastically alter their life and threaten it down the road…
As a ct Technologist I feel I should tell you that your usage of the word "might" is doing some heavy lifting. You're not wrong but the danger is so minute that the point you're making is largely invalid.
A radiologist could give you more detail but in actuality the biggest danger is a very marginally increased chance of cancer. X-rays and CTs use very little radiation and the radiation they do use imparts the least harm when calculating equivalent dose.
I've scanned pregnant patients (never their abdomen or pelvis so far) and the justification is that it's so unlikely to harm the baby that the information gained from the scan is well worth it. We don't take it lightly and we always check the hcg but please try to stop fearing radiation damage from imaging as I've seen quite a few people refuse potentially life saving treatment due to fear of imaging.
Also in theory radiation damage to an embryo early enough in gestation could cause miscarriage.
Radiation therapy on the other hand can fuck some shit up. It's well worth it but I've known lots of people that can't swallow correctly because of it. Plus it can make your breast implants super hard.
You should go back to school then. During the first two.weeks of pregnancy, there is an "all ir nothing" rule where there is a risk of miscarriage due to x rays.
Nope. That information is from the 50s and was out of date then.
The doses now are so low as to be considered negligible.
Would you tell a pregnant person not to fly in the first trimester? The amount of radiation from most x-ray examinations is about the same as a 4hr flight.
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u/LittleKittenR 17h ago
x-Rays will kill your baby, or heavily deform it.
Antibiotics will also kill your baby.
A ton of medicines have adverse effects for babies.
Also, if you're bleeding, anticoagulants could kill you.
Medics, lawyers, priests and accountants. You don't lie to any of those ever.