Dangers of Radiation and Radiation Exposure During Pregnancy

In light of ongoing threats of radiation exposure during the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Japan, OBGYN.net has put together a list of resources and information for doctors and patients who want to learn more about the dangers of radiation and exposure during pregnancy.

If you have a resource you'd like to send us for inclusion in this section, please email us.

For more information about the crisis and for ways to help, visit the Red Cross website.

Radiation and Pregnancy: A Fact Sheet for the Public

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains the dangers of prenatal exposure risk, increased cancer risk, and the dangers of radiation during different periods of gestation.

Radiation Exposure During Pregnancy

Duke University's Radiation Safety Division provides references regarding exposure to x-rays and nuclear medicine studies during pregnancy. The site also includes a "Fetal Radiation Risk Assessment Wizard."

A Warning for Japan on Radiation and Pregnancy

This blog post from the New York Times includes commentary from Douglas Almond, a Columbia University economist who has studied the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. Almond warns, "The fetus may be particularly sensitive to low doses of ionizing radiation, a susceptibility that current public health responses in Japan seem to have overlooked."

Ask the Experts: Radiation and Pregnancy

The Health Physics Society has developed a variety of FAQs on this topic, including pregnancy and flying, pregnancy and radiation, pregnancy and security screening, doses from medical radiation sources, conception after exposures, exposures not directly to the embryo/fetus, exposures to the embryo/fetus, guidance and policy, inherited (genetic) effects, proximity to radioactive persons, radioactivity in food and water. . .