# Mri while pregnant??



## Jemma_x

Ive had a letter yesterday with a date for an MRI scan that my epilepsy consulatant has referred me for. Does anyone know if MRI's are safe while pregnant, i know x-ray's arnt recommened but i have no idea about MRI's.

Any help would be really helpful

Thanks!


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## Amanda

I've just found this on Netdoctor

Is an MRI scan dangerous? 

There are no known dangers or side effects connected to an MRI scan. The test is not painful; you cannot feel it. Since radiation is not used, the procedure can be repeated without problems. There is a small theoretical risk to the foetus in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and therefore scans are not performed on pregnant women during this time. 

I'd give them a ring on Monday hun.:hugs:


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## Jemma_x

Thank you :) ill give them a ring monday and tell them.


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## Holly21

Hi, it will depend on what the MRI is for - if it's just a routine scan, it could be put off until later on. Although it's not as safe as ultrasound, MRI is safer than all most other imaging modalities. It works by using a magnetic field and then taking pictures - the atoms in your body line up in a particular way along the mangetic field and give a really good picture of the soft tissues underneath. Sometimes, they use a contrast agent, which is a liquid you either swallow or have injected into your veins and it highlights the pictures better. If you've had epilepsy for ages and your Consultant is just having a really close look (MRI gives a better view of the brain than CT scans which you may have already had) to see what your brain looks like, he/she may put it off until at least after the 1st trimester. It would really depend on the level of urgency - if someone needed a really specific scan to delineate a possible brain tumour where time was of the essence, the MRI would probably be done, regardless of the pregnancy. MRI seems safe in pregnancy but no-one is ever going to run a trial on pregnant women to prove this as it would hit every barrier at the ethics approval committees so most of our knowledge of scans/drugs in pregnancy is through case reports and anecdote. Your radiology department will deal with this all the time and have protocols for pregnant women so you could either give them a phone or let your Consultant's secretary know you're pregnant and they can sort it out.

:hug:


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## Jemma_x

Ye, im going to phone my consultants office monday and speak to the receptionist there and tell her and ask her what i should do about it because im pregnant, The scan is to see if the part of my brain which causes my epilepsy has improved so i dont think its really that urgent,

Thanks for your help.


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## todteach

Jemma: I need to get a cat scan done this month, and it has been advised that I not be pregnant (which is a whole other story, really wish I was still pregnant). My neurologist has told me that MRIs are safer, however, I'm not able to get a MRI because of a metal clip on my brain, from surgery when I was child. 

found this on the web: _New studies by radiologists have shown that MRI can be just as accurate as CT scans at helping radiologists diagnose pathologies such as cancer, cysts and kidney stones -- while carrying less risk, especially for pregnant women. The magnetic waves and radiofrequency energy used in MRI are a safer alternative to the potentially carcinogenic X-rays of CT scans, especially during gestation. CT scans are still much faster, but medical physicists are working on developing faster MRI machines._ 


good luck hun.


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## Holly21

As mentioned above, MRI is much safer than CT as CT carries quite a lot of radiation whereas MRI doesn't. In fact, the radiation in 1 CT head scan is equivalent to 100 chest X-rays (1 chest X-ray = 2.4 days of normal background radiation from the earth). The disadvantage of MRI is you can't do it if you have any metal bits in you, but I assume your doctor will have asked that already as most hospitals make doctors fill out a safety questionnaire before requesting an MRI. MRIs give clearer pictures especially of areas like the brain and spinal cord and joints. MRIs take ages (often 30 mins or more) whereas you can do a CT in a few minutes. In saying that, a CT will only be done if your doctor is satisfied that you really need one. Sorry for your situation todteach and hope that your outcome is a happy one :hug:


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## sara82

Hi Girls, im new on here and i need to tell you about the MRI scan i had two weeks ago.
I didnt know i was pregnant, at the time of the scan i would of been 3 weeks.
The scan was of my head due to bad headaches. When i realised i was pregnant i was really worried about the effects of the mri on my unborn baby. I went straight to the doctors who didnt really have a clue what could happen. He transfered me to an OB vut the eaiting list is very long. I decided to go private. I phoned the ob secretary and explained what had happened, she advised she would speak to the consultant and see what he said, she also advised that i would need to pay £170 for an hour long consultation. When she called me back and told me the ob wanted to see me the next day i was in complete panic. I then called my anti-natal clinc to see how long it would be to get seen on the NHS. She asked for my details to be faxed and would make me an appointment. The appointment with the private ob was for wednesday at 3pm, at 1.30pm on the same day the receptionist from the anti-natal clinc called me back to say she had spoke to the consulatant and he has tol me not to worry AT ALL, there is minimal risk to the baby from the MRI and everything should be fine, I cancelled the private ob appointment at once and im disgusted that they would stress me out all so they could tell me at the £170 consultation that everything is fine. I also went into hospital with stomach pain so they ran the hcg tests which were 577 on wednesday, 4 weeks 4 days preg and today they are 1145, 4 weeks 6 days preg. The scan they performed didnt really show much as im so early in pregnancy but it did show a small sac where it should be hopefully, im going back next week for another scan. All in all, everyting is fine, especially when it came to the MRI, so anyone who is worried please dont be, and if you still are, be nice to the recpetionist at you anti-natal clinc and they will find out all you need to no.


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## K123

I had to have emergency brain scan at about 12DPO last month. Explained that I was TTC and they decided to do CT as safer option as definitely needed a scan and they thought MRI would be unwise. As it turned out last month it wouldn't have mattered as I wasn't pregnant, but based on whaty they said to me you should def speak to hospital before going.


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## AP

omg i thought jemma was pregnant again, but its an old thread! :rofl: I choked on my tea!!!


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## Briss

I am due for my MRI this week, I will be 6 DPO, there is a slight possibility I could be pregnant or have an embryo trying to implant at the time of MRI, really worried but I have a cyst on my ovary which might be dangerous so really need to find out what's it made of. my doc said MRIs are safe in pregnancy. Although from reading on line it seems like certain contrast agent that they use i.e. gadolinium should be avoided if pregnant. I guess I will have to ask the people doing the scan whether they can do it without any contrast agents.


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## azure girl

So this thread is old, but I see you have questions about an MRI. I work around them and I will say this much, they are safe. As for the effect on an implanting embryo, I don't think it will hurt at all. In fact, I was near the MRI when my baby was implanting. It is just a big magnet, no radioactivity. My husband who is an MRI tech doesn't mind me placing patients in the tube or standing right next to it. The dye is best avoided if pregnant. I wouldn't stress too much. :)


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## Briss

azure girl, thank you very much for responding! makes me feel much better about forthcoming MRI. I did not know it can have any effect on people standing near it, I thought it was only effecting those in the tube while it's on?


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## c.m.c

Jemma_x said:


> Ive had a letter yesterday with a date for an MRI scan that my epilepsy consulatant has referred me for. Does anyone know if MRI's are safe while pregnant, i know x-ray's arnt recommened but i have no idea about MRI's.
> 
> Any help would be really helpful
> 
> Thanks!

Not in first tri....even radiographer s who are pregnant don't enter the room before 13 weeks. Think there's been ladies pregnant and had MRI though later in pregnancy and are ok but can't take gadolinium


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## Briss

is it true that you cant do MRI if you have metal inside your body? I may have some metal pins in my teeth. is it a problem?


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## JessPape

MRI does have a a small risk, what you need to think about is the risks of what they are looking for, being a risk while ur pregnant. If it is, the risk of MRI is pretty small.


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## Briss

just wanted to make it clear that you should not do MRI in the first 12 weeks. there were different opinions on this and I was told that it's safe but when I turned up at the hospital today I was told to take a pregnancy test to confirm I am not pregnant because they simply wont do MRI in the first 12 weeks. although my test came negative I am only 6 DPO and I was told that in this case it's up to me whether I was to take this risk. Obviously I rescheduled my MRi to a later date once I get my period because if I turn out to be pregnant the last thing you want is to worry how MRI may affect the pregnancy. better safe than sorry. also, I just thought if the hospital would not do the test without specifically saying what the risks are it just means that there are some potential risks but they are not yet official but the mere fact they want to protect themselves from such liability by not doing the scan in the first 12 weeks should be considered as a confirmation that it is not safe.


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