“I accompanied my mother for her X-ray and I didn’t know I was pregnant then. What should I do?”

Probably no problem. Have radiologist obtain radiation levels where you were in the room for similar xray.

The risk of radiation effects on a fetus for a back radiograph series on a person standing away from the patient is extremely, extremely low. You actually receive over twenty times more background radiation from radon sources in your home than you will from that single medical exposure. So, rest assured and congratulations!

The short answer is fear not. Since you were presumably exposed to only scatter radiation from diagnostic X-rays, the likelihood of anything significant happening is essentially incalculably small and clinically negligible. The table below is a summary of exposure and the following link explains dosage:

https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=safety-xray

In short, the dose you received was likely so small that your baby is almost certainly fine. You see from the table that the dose of 50mGy is the low end on the table. I can all but guarantee that you received many many times less than that dose. No worries....all the best!

You should contact the facility where the study was performed and explain the situation. Will need to inquire with radiation safety person.

If it is just a plain film X-ray, such as a chest X-ray or abdominal X-ray, the dose with you standing in the room is very low. If you were the patient being X-rayed, the dose would be higher. Bear in mind that the dose of X-rays for a chest X-ray is the same dose you would receive taking a flight from Boston to California. Also, it depends on the stage of pregnancy as the most radiosensitive period for a fetus is 6-10 weeks. It is very unlikely you recieved a significant dose.

BRIAN DECOSTA

To answer the question, you have to look at two factors:

First consideration is how far along you are in your pregnancy when the exposure occurred. If you are early in your pregnancy, there is a higher risk for loss of the pregnancy or genetic damage. The risks are quite low and are also dependent on the next factor.

The second consideration is how much X-ray exposure you may have potentially received. The answer here depends on where you were standing at the moment your mom was being X-rayed. Often, when there is a family member or friend in the room for support, the X-ray tech will have them stand beside them and behind a lead shielded wall/window. If this was what happened in your case, you would have received NO radiation exposure and are completely fine in regards to any risk from the X-ray. It would be unusual for you to be allowed to stand in front of this protected area. If you were, the X-ray tech most likely would have or should have given you a lead apron to cover your torso. If you were in the back of the room but outside the shielded area with no protection, you may have been exposed to a minimal amount of scatter
radiation. Outside of having the X-ray performed on yourself, your greatest risk for exposure would have been if you were standing right next to your mother without a lead apron to shield you. This would be highly unusual practice, but even if this was the case, since you were not in direct line of the X-ray beam you would only have been slightly exposed to some scatter radiation and probably not much more than the amount of background radiation your body is exposed to during the course of a typical day.

Your greatest exposure risk would obviously have been if you were having the X-ray done on yourself. This still occurs at times as not everyone knows the moment they get pregnant or may not even realize they are pregnant even as much as 2-3 months in. Direct X-ray exposures in these cases, especially if they have repeated X-rays, are the higher risk cases but the risks still remain quite low overall.

Based on your scenario, I would expect you received a minimal dosage, if any, and your risks are extremely low. If you have further concerns that is something you can better discuss with your gynecologist/doctor about whether you would require additional ultrasound or whether prenatal genetic testing may be helpful.

The amount of radiation you would have been exposed to would be minimal. It is extremely unlikely to have any adverse effects on your baby. Just have your normal prenatal studies.

The amount of radiation that you were exposed to is minimal, similar to the amount of radiation you would be exposed to flying across the USA on a commercial flight. That being said, however, NO radiation exposure is without some potential risk to the developing fetus. In general, the earlier in development, i.e., the younger the fetus, the more devastating the insult. It is highly UNLIKELY that the exposure sustained by your kind intentions would have harmed your developing baby.
Best wishes,
Dr. Lerro

You should consult the radiology department. They may need to consult their radiation physicist to determine the dosage you received. I hope you were at least wearing protective shielding.

I am assuming that while you were in the room with her, you were given a lead apron to wear. The amount of scatter radiation that you would receive is probably not that significant. If you were not wearing the lead apron, you might have slightly greater exposure. Regarding radiation protection, time which is the amount of time exposed, distance as measured from the source of radiation and shielding which would be your lead apron are the factors which cover the amount of radiation you might receive in any one instance. No one can guarantee the outcome of radiation exposure, but the odds are that it will not affect you or your unborn.

They should have given you a lead shield. If they did, then don't worry. If they didn't, then the amount of scatter radiation was likely not significant. I would not worry about it. I have personally witnessed a lot worse than this and things have always turned out fine for the baby. Remember, with the low doses of medial imaging, there is no proven risk to a pregnancy, only a theoretical risk.

Did they not shield you during the X-ray? Did they give you an apron to wear? Were you actually in the room at the time of exposure? Even if you were, you would not have been within the primary X-ray beam and would have received only scatter radiation. The risk of any problem would be extremely small.

We do not allow anyone in the room during exposure without wearing a protective apron. That's pretty standard in the US. Not sure about outside the US.