Procreation seems to be a process of human reproduction, but there are too many unknowns in it. Especially after the implantation of the fertilized egg begins to develop, since the small embryo is inside the uterus, the changes in the fetus cannot be observed by the naked eye at any time.
From the embryo to the maturity of the fetus, there are many external factors that may interfere with the normal development of the fetus, and even have the risk of teratogenicity, such as radiation is one of them.
Anyone who has an understanding of medical examination equipment should know that many imaging tests produce a certain amount of radiation, such as X-rays, CT examinations, etc. Some pregnant women have x-rays without knowing they are pregnant, and then when they are diagnosed with pregnancy, they will begin to worry, fearing that radiation will cause the fetus to deform.
So the question is, if you have an X-ray during pregnancy, is there a risk of teratogenicity?
First of all, it cannot be denied that X-ray examination does produce radiation. However, let's not forget a sentence: talking about toxicity over the dose is actually a hooligan. If you do not mention the radiation dose, directly mention the harm caused by radiation, which is actually a very unscientific approach.
In fact, many studies and investigations have confirmed that there is a certain threshold for the adverse effects of X-rays on all mammals, cubs, embryos, etc., including humans;
In the most popular terms, it is not contact with radiation that will definitely cause damage. Whether it is an adult or a fetus in the womb of a pregnant woman, the radiation received must reach a certain level before there is damage.
According to the relevant guidelines issued by the American Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2017, the effect and risk of X-ray radiation on the fetus mainly depend on gestational age and the dose of radiation. In other words, the corresponding radiation safety doses for different gestational ages are different and cannot be generalized.
Within 0-2 weeks of gestation, the threshold for fetal malformations is 50-100 mSV, and the main effect is that the fetus may die.
During the 2-8 weeks of gestation, the threshold for fetal malformations is 200 millisieverts, which may cause congenital malformations of the fetus. At 8-15 weeks of gestation, the threshold is 60-310 mSv, which affects mainly fetal intelligence as well as malformations. Around 16-25 weeks of gestation, the threshold ranges from 250-280 millisieverts, which mainly affects fetal intelligence.
From these contents, it is not difficult to see that in all gestational age, the minimum affecting dose threshold is 50 millisieverts, and below this dose threshold there will be no damage to the fetus.
Although the radiation dose values of X-rays and CT in different hospitals will change slightly, in fact, this change is very small, and the radiation generated by an ordinary chest X-ray is only 0.02 millisieverts, and the radiation dose generated by a chest CT is only about 8 millisieverts.
What is clear is that the radiation dose produced by these tests is many times lower than the previously mentioned minimum radiation threshold of 50 millisieverts. To reach 50 millisieverts, you need to take about 200 chest X-rays in a row.
Even the chest CT with the most radiation needs to be done about 6 times in a row. Therefore, an occasional X-ray examination is not enough to pose a threat to fetal health.
All in all, after an X-ray during pregnancy, whether it is done unexpectedly or not, there is no need to be overly nervous, and there is no need to choose miscarriage. It should be known that even if radioactivity is not performed, there is a certain probability of acute, miscarriage, and hereditary disease risk. Therefore, what pregnant mothers have to do is to relax their mentality and conduct regular pregnancy tests according to the doctor's recommendations.