CT scans ahead of pregnancy may raise risks of poor birth outcomes, study finds

Published on 09/09/2025 - 14:58 GMT+2

Women who acquisition CT scans soon earlier they get pregnant whitethorn beryllium much apt to acquisition miscarriage and person babies pinch commencement defects, a ample caller study suggests.

Computed tomography (CT) scans are utilized to diagnose humor clots, haemorrhage, cancer, and different life-threatening wellness issues, but they besides expose patients to ionising radiation astatine levels that are tied to a higher consequence of cancer.

Given nan caller findings, further investigation will beryllium needed to corroborate whether nan accrued gestation risks are owed to nan effects of nan scans themselves, aliases to nan suspected wellness issues that punctual group to get them.

Regardless of nan answer, nan Canadian investigation squad based on that replacement forms of aesculapian imaging should beryllium prioritised for young women who whitethorn beryllium aliases soon go pregnant.

The study, which was published successful nan diary Annals of Internal Medicine, included information for much than 5.1 cardinal pregnancies and 3.4 cardinal unrecorded births successful Canada betwixt 1992 and 2023.

It recovered that nan much CT scans women underwent earlier getting pregnant, nan much apt they were to acquisition miscarriage aliases commencement defects.

Among women who had undergone 3 aliases much CT scans successful nan period earlier getting pregnant, for example, nan complaint of miscarriage was 142 per 1,000 pregnancies, and nan complaint of congenital abnormalities was 105 per 1,000 births.

For women who did not person a CT scan up of pregnancy, those rates were 101 and 62, respectively.

Notably, women who were smokers aliases had diabetes, precocious humor pressure, aliases obesity – each consequence factors for mediocre commencement outcomes – were much apt to acquisition CT scans than healthier women.

The researchers besides noted that location were gaps successful information connected women’s life vulnerability to CT scans and that different underlying aesculapian problems could lend to their commencement outcomes.

“It seems rather apt that women who person a CT scan successful nan period earlier conception already person immoderate benignant of wellness problem that led to nan request for a CT scan successful nan first place,” said Derek Hill, a professor of aesculapian imaging subject astatine University College London who was not progressive pinch nan study.

Even so, nan study authors said doctors should see “alternative imaging methods … erstwhile appropriate”.

The findings are “significant capable that different non-ionising imaging modalities, specified arsenic MRI and ultrasound, whitethorn request to beryllium prioritised for women of child-bearing property aliases readying to conceive,” said Simon Jolly, a professor of visceral physics astatine University College London who was not progressive pinch nan study.

He said further studies should analyse whether nan findings clasp up successful different groups of patients.