Pregnancy radiation exposure during

Koren G, Pastuszak A Prevention of unnecessary pregnancy terminations by counseling women on drug, chemical, and radiation exposure during the first trimester. Teratology 1990 41 657. [PMID 2353314]... 

At last, months late, the clinic was complete and we could begin a new examination of the children of the Nagasaki bomb, checking for the first time for effects of radiation exposure during pregnancy. 

The possibility of severe health effects depends on the gestational age of the unborn baby at the time of exposure and the amount of radiation it is exposed to, Unborn babies are less sensitive during some stages of pregnancy than others. However, unborn babies are particularly sensitive to radiation during their early development, between weeks 2 and 15 of pregnancy. The health consequences can be severe, even at radiation doses too low to make the mother sick. Such consequences can include stunted growth, deformities, abnormal brain function, or cancer that may develop sometime later in life. However, since the baby is shielded by the mother s abdomen, it is protected in the womb from radioactive sources outside the mother s body. Consequently, the radiation dose to the unborn baby is iow-er than tlie do.se to the mother for most radiation exposure events. 

In addition to the aforementioned health effects, other health effects may occur in infants due to exposure of the embryo or foetus to radiation. These effects include a greater likelihood of leukaemia and, for exposure above various threshold dose values during certain periods of pregnancy, severe mental retardation and congenital malformations. 

The unborn baby is made up knows that she is pregnant. Of the babies that survive, however, few will have birth defects related to the exposure, regardless of how much radiation they were exposed to. 

Radiation during pregnancy. Established guidelines vary but generally recommend a maximum exposure of no more than 50 mrem per month (NCRP). Exposure to the ovaries and fetus from a routine abdominal (KUB) film may be as high as 146 mrem from a chest x-ray, the dose is about 15 mrem. 

The Motherisk program is an information and consultation service for women, flieir families and health professionals on the safety/risk of exposure to drugs, chemicals, radiation and infection during pregnancy and lactation. Chemical exposure in the workplace is a common source of concern among our patients and health professionals. 

The dose limits for employees over the age of 18 years are those recommended by ICRP. Lower limits apply to trainees under the age of 18 years. Special restrictions apply to the rate at which women of reproductive capacity can be exposed and to the exposure of pregnant women during the declared term of pregnancy. The limits for any other person are 5 mSv in a year for the effective dose and SOmSv in a year for the dose to individual organs or tissues other than the lens of the eye for which the value is 15 mSv in a year. The main requirement however is for employers to take all necessary steps to restrict so far as reasonably practicable the extent to which his employees and other persons are exposed to ionising radiation. ... 

The radiation dose to an embryo/fetus during the entire pregnancy, due to the occupational exposure of a declared pregnant woman, shall not exceed 0.5 rem. Efforts should be made to insure a uniform monthly exposure rate when necessary. The dose to an embryo/fetus shall be taken as the sum of the deep-dose equivalent, and the dose to the embryo/fetus from radionuclides in the embryo/fetus and radionuclides in the declared pregnant woman. 

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