Has Anyone Had a CT Scan During Pregnancy? Concerned About Radiation Exposure.

Here is what I found:

"If the abdomen or pelvis is not being imaged, such as in chest or head CT, then there is no risk to the baby.".

During my 1st pregnancy I had both CT scans and MRIs from week 6 toward the middle of the second trimester. My daughter is currently 12 and other than typical teen issues she's fine, never a health issue due to any of the scans I had. I'm hopeful your doctor wouldn't misinform you about the risks.

Didn't have a CT, had several straight up x rays, MRI, and full out sedated knee surgery. Of my 4 that one is actually the most normal so perhaps it helps. I kid with the last but I went through a lot with my second pregnancy and she really is a totally amazing young woman now.

I did, for the same reason you did. I was 6 months pregnant with twins, and I was a gestational carrier so they weren't even my babies. I had gone to see my PCP because I had had a nagging, dry cough for a few months that the OB-GYN wasn't addressing. When I was at her office, she thought I didn't look well and did an EKG, which came back abnormal. She told me to go to the ER and gave me a piece of paper that stated that it was a cardiac issue and I needed to be seen immediately. In the ER, they figured out that my potassium, calcium and magnesium levels were very low, but they also ran some kind of test that can rule out blood clots. The test did NOT rule out a clot, so they recommended a CT scan.

At this point, I had to really struggle to stay calm. I wanted the babies' parents and OB to sign off on the CT scan because I didn't want to risk exposing the babies to a dangerous level of radiation. At the same time, I had an ER doc telling me that if I have a blood clot and they don't catch it, it could cause a pulmonary embolism and then all three of us (myself and two babies) could die, leaving my own 4 kids motherless. It took a couple of hours to track down an OB-GYN from the practice (which was just 7 floors above where I was but communication was terrible), who finally said it was OK and called the parents to tell them that she recommended the scan so they were OK with it.

The scan was done, I was fine, they got my levels back to where they needed to be, and that was that. The babies were born at 37 weeks (full-term for twins), they were big and healthy and ready to go home with their parents 2 days later. No health issues at all.

I totally understand your worry, but in a case like yours (and mine) the radiation exposure is a much smaller risk than a PE and a CT scan is the right thing to do. Your baby will be fine, and you made the right decision!

i too would worry, and not consider such a procedure unless it was medically necessary and my OB had okayed it.
it sounds as if both of these criteria are fulfilled in your case.
nothing is 100% safe, but we have to trust our trained medical professionals when the chips are down.
khairete
S.

Those tests are pretty safe regardless of pregnancy or not. Even X-rays can be done while the mom is pregnant. They just cover the belly. If it's life or death or serious they take the precautions they can but do it anyway. The OB/GYN should know everything there is to know about that. I'd trust them.

I did. They took the necessary precautions. I think there's always a risk when you have radiation but they minimize it as much as possible. They should have run this past you when you had it and also discussed this with you. Also - the way I thought about it is - the benefits outweigh the negatives. You needed to know about your breathing - which is a major concern. That could have had dire consequences. I would trust your OB.
I had no side effects and my kids are all fine. With my last, I had extra testing and she's just fine. No health concerns or developmental delays or anything like that.

If it helps, think of all the moms who have to have surgeries or have serious health concerns with pregnancies. Some women go through all kinds of treatments and tests and scans - and their babies are fine.

Normal to be concerned but they wouldn't put your baby at risk. Trust your doctors :)

Yes I did and a couple of MRI's during pregnancy. They had to do these tests to rule out similar
pulmonary embolisms. In my "non-medical" opinion......they were worth it in order to save both of
our lives. They didn't want the cloged vein/artery to burst.....which it did. Fortunately, they caught
it in time.

Hi MS,

I threw my back out when I was pregnant with my DS so I went to the chiropractor. I refused the imaging because he would have had to shoot my entire spine, since the pain was lower and I didn't want to risk it. However, in your case, given the location of the imaging and the approval of your OB, you should be fine. Did they lead apron you? If so, I wouldn't worry at all about it. Good luck with your pregnancy and may you have a safe and drama free birth. :-) S.

I almost had MRI done when I was pregnant with my son. It was during the beginning of the 2nd trimester (didn't even know I was pregnant until almost 11 weeks). My OB handled high risk so very informed and the radiologist also told me that the amount of radiation was very low and would not hurt the baby. The MRI was actually to get a picture of his head etc. I couldn't do it--I could not stand that tunnel. They did a CT when he was born and everything was fine.

Updated

I almost had MRI done when I was pregnant with my son. It was during the beginning of the 2nd trimester (didn't even know I was pregnant until almost 11 weeks). My OB handled high risk so very informed and the radiologist also told me that the amount of radiation was very low and would not hurt the baby. The MRI was actually to get a picture of his head etc. I couldn't do it--I could not stand that tunnel. They did a CT when he was born and everything was fine.