The certainty of teratogenicity of CT in early pregnancy

There are many things that women need to pay attention to after they become pregnant. They cannot do strenuous exercise and it is best not to lift heavy objects. They also need to pay special attention to their diet and try not to eat raw or cold food. They also need to stay away from radiation, such as X-rays and CT scans, as these can easily cause deformities in the baby and may also lead to premature birth.

Can CT scans during early pregnancy cause fetal malformations?

Pregnant mothers are very reluctant to undergo CT or X-ray examinations during pregnancy. Even some women who are preparing to become pregnant are advised not to get pregnant within six months after medical imaging diagnosis because the high doses of radiation can cause fetal deformities. In fact, the impact of the so-called high-dose radiation on the fetus also depends on the size of the fetus and needs to be analyzed stage by stage.

The fertilized egg is a single cell. If the radiation is particularly strong, it is almost impossible to produce only a single abnormality, and the result is often catastrophic, that is, miscarriage. As the cells divide, before organs form, this small group of cells are all omnipotent stem cells. If one is seriously injured or killed, the adjacent ones can replace it, and it is unlikely to cause deformities. Therefore, scientists figuratively call this period the "all-or-none period". That is to say, if the expectant mother goes for a CT scan or X-ray in the first one or two weeks after conception (i.e. 3rd and 4th weeks of pregnancy), if any harm occurs, she will basically have a miscarriage. Otherwise, the pregnancy will continue normally.

Scientists have also discovered through experiments on rats that the threshold for radiation-induced death and miscarriage before the fertilized egg implants and before organogenesis is 0.15-0.2Gy. If it is less than this value, there will be no problem. As long as the baby mice survive, they are strong and will grow normally. People cannot conduct experiments, but they can analyze historical disasters. After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, the abortion rate in the Soviet Union increased. Further into central and northern Europe, such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria and other places, there has been no significant change in the rates of various reproductive defects, including malformations, stillbirths and spontaneous abortions. Unfortunately, in some countries in southeastern Europe at that time, some poor pregnant women were persuaded to have abortions.

Precautions during early pregnancy

1. Diet. Eat light, easily digestible food during early pregnancy. Eat more vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables and less greasy food. Remember to drink water or milk every morning when you wake up. You should also pay attention to eating small meals frequently and not eating too much at each meal.

2. Medication. You must pay attention to medication in the early stages of pregnancy, because this period is the most important period for the development of various organs of the fetus. If mothers blindly take medicine because of illness, it can easily cause deformities.

3. Pregnancy environment. In addition to not letting the mother smoke or drink, it is best to stay away from smoking environments. To prevent smoke from causing fetal hypoxia. Mothers should also avoid going to public places with poor hygiene or factories with harmful gas emissions, and stay away from fetal malformations caused by harmful gases and viruses.

4. Sports. It is not advisable to do some strenuous exercise in the early stages of pregnancy. Pregnant women can take a walk in the morning and evening, but not for too long. Make sure the body does not feel tired. Just be moderate and ensure adequate sleep.

5. Mood. Another thing to pay attention to in the early stages of pregnancy is to keep yourself happy and relaxed. Due to psychological reasons after pregnancy, many pregnant mothers will have a bad temper or be irritable, and are afraid of making noises. In this case, they can choose to listen to light music or find a quiet place to rest.