Can I have a child after CT radiation?

Nowadays, people's economic conditions are constantly improving, and they naturally pay more attention to their physical health. Enterprises, institutions and private enterprises also provide free health checks to their employees, and CT is a common examination item in physical examinations. Everyone knows that CT has radiation. So if a woman becomes pregnant after having a CT scan, can she still keep the child? How long does it take for the radiation brought by CT to the human body to be eliminated? Whether there is any impact on sperm quality in men after CT is done are issues that men and women who are planning to have a baby are concerned about.

1. Ionizing radiation does have an effect on sperm

Ionizing radiation can induce DNA damage, causing chromosomal structural abnormalities in spermatogenic cells in the human body and causing apoptosis of spermatogenic cells. The degree of damage increases significantly with the increase of irradiation dose.

Spermatogenic cells are very sensitive to ionizing radiation. After the human body has received a large dose of ionizing radiation, semen quality usually reaches its lowest point 4 to 6 months after exposure, and takes 10 to 18 months to fully recover. Therefore, high doses of radiation in a short period of time or low doses of radiation for a long time may lead to male infertility.

2. Don’t change your pregnancy plan because of a checkup

Whether men or women have undergone an X-ray or CT scan, there is no need to delay pregnancy preparation.

If you have done multiple such examinations in a short period of time, for example, some diseases require repeated CT scans to confirm the diagnosis, or some surgeries require the use of X-ray equipment to assist in the operation, in these cases, you need to pay proper attention when preparing for pregnancy. The entire development cycle of sperm is about 3 months; mature sperm generally survives in the body for about 2 weeks. The mature sperm that are irradiated will disappear after two weeks at most; immature sperm, if exposed to irradiation, will mostly fail to mature. To be on the safe side, after undergoing multiple medical radiation examinations in a short period of time, you can wait 3 months to check sperm motility before preparing for pregnancy.

3. Don’t abort the fetus because of X-ray examination

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnancy should not be terminated for medical diagnostic imaging done during or before pregnancy. Therefore, if a woman successfully conceives, there is no need to abort the fetus due to radiation.

Although X-rays and CT scans do not have a major impact on pregnancy preparation, ionizing radiation is an environmental factor with greater hazards. We should try to avoid contact with radioactive substances and minimize the number of times we are exposed to ionizing radiation.