{"id":50345,"date":"2025-04-25T21:27:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/x-ray-during-pregnancy-is-it-safe\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:40:54","slug":"x-ray-during-pregnancy-is-it-safe","status":"publish","type":"mayo","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/fr\/mayo-health-library\/x-ray-during-pregnancy-is-it-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"X-ray during pregnancy: Is it safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The possibility of an X-ray during pregnancy causing harm to a fetus is very small. Generally, the benefits of the information from an X-ray outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n

X-rays used to look for health problems sometimes are called diagnostic imaging. Most use a low dose of radiation. And many X-rays don’t directly expose reproductive organs to radiation beams. Examples include X-rays of the teeth, head, arms, legs or chest. You do not need to wear a lead apron during those X-rays even when you’re pregnant.<\/p>\n

X-rays that focus on the abdomen, lower back or pelvis could directly expose the belly to X-ray beams. The risk of harm to a fetus with this type of X-ray depends on how far along you are in your pregnancy. The amount of radiation and type of X-ray also make a difference. There are steps your healthcare team can take to minimize radiation to the fetus.<\/p>\n

Getting many X-rays to the abdomen in a short amount of time in the very early stages of pregnancy could lead to health concerns for a developing baby. Receiving radiation in very high doses during the first two weeks after conception could cause a miscarriage.<\/p>\n

High doses of radiation during the first eight weeks after conception raise the risk of some birth defects, including:<\/p>\n