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Answer to Question #2675 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"Category: Pregnancy and Radiation — Exposures not directly to embryo/fetus The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field: Q
My wife had a radiation exposure as she accompanied our 1.5-year-old son to the x-ray room for a diagnostic lung x-ray test. She was asked if she was pregnant and she said no as she did not know she was. A week after, she thinks that she may have been 15-20 days pregnant at the time of the x ray. I need to know if this dose of radiation can affect the potential baby and how? Please advise what to do.
A
Thank you for the question. The x-ray machine has a cone and filter, therefore the amount of radiation that your wife received, if any, was some small fraction of the exposure that your child was exposed to. Her exposure would even be much less if she wore a lead apron. Without knowing where she was standing and the specific type of lung exam being performed, I can't estimate a fetal dose. However, it would be most unusual if the fetus received an exposure that would result in any effects. The threshold for birth defects is approximately 20,000 mrad and the fetus probably received a only few mrad, an exposure of no consequence. The International Commission on Radiation Protection states that radiation doses this small do not warrant any concern or action.
Kelly Classic Certified Medical Health Physicist
Answer posted on 13 May 2003. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.
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