NICU preemie x-rays

[WantsALittle1]

Is anyone else disturbed by the extremely lackadaisical attitude toward radiation exposure in NICU preemies? My daughter is a 31-weeker, was born 9 days ago and she has already had three x-rays in the NICU. We won't know what harm has been done until she is an old woman--what if she is sterile because of improper shielding? What if she develops cancer because she was bombarded by radiation at such a young age?

I was enraged when I learned that she was exposed to radiation without my consent, and the fact that x-rays continue to be a routine way of diagnosing small problems makes me both enraged and extremely concerned. Last night my daughter had a bilious residual, emesis, and hadn't pooped all day. Instead of trying a suppository FIRST, the doctor decided to x-ray, despite my objections. 10 minutes after the x-ray, while it was being developed, the suppository went in and three diapers full of poop came out. If they had tried the suppository first, perhaps they would have realized that the freaking x-ray wasn't necessary. I'm so mad!

 

[25weeker]

No I wasn't because the benefits of what they find out in an X-ray outweighs the cons. X-rays can find problems quickly in prems which is critical because they have weak immune systems and need treated ASAP. In neonatal they have to do what's the best for the baby and in some cases they have to do things when the parents aren't there.

I suspect they were concerned about NEC which can be critical to a prem and the quicker they treated it the better chance antibiotics have of working.

 

[AP]

I'm with 25weeker. The X-rays are pretty imperative and at no point was I asked permission either. They were done before I barely found out because they need to highlight any issues quickly. I have no issues with it, again the pros far outweigh the cons and on the grand scale of things it was nothing.

 

[Srrme]

My 28.6 weeker had ultrasounds done, on his brain, lungs, kidneys, and so forth.

 

[dizz]

I was angry at how they dealt with them. Basically - wheeled up to see her, still spinal blocked from the delivery so totally at their mercy - they pointed to her, and just as I got a proper look in - I had barked at me - "We're x-raying her now, leave"... no consent, no explanations as to why, no compassionate tone of voice - just barked at and pushed out without a word allowed from me.

They trade far too much on the gratitude angle at my place and use it as a licence to treat parents like garbage - while I'm grateful for what they did for her - I'm still fucking livid at what they did to me and how they treated me and hubby.

As for any long-term impacts on it all - they wouldn't know - they didn't care enough to even follow their own guidelines regarding which babies they followed up for aftercare! (And they admitted on the phone "according to our guidelines we should be doing aftercare follow up on her - but we're not going to bother")

 

[WantsALittle1]

OP here. In my case the signs were NOT pointing to NEC--the abdomen was soft, she hadn't voided all day, and one of the doctors suggested that she could be constipated from the breastmilk fortifier. While NEC was a concern, it could have been *ruled out* by trying the suppository first. It seems to me that irradiating a premature infant would be a LAST RESORT, but the point of my post is that they are quick to do x-rays and act like it's the same risk as listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope. X-rays have been linked to genital, blood, and other abnormalities when fetuses are exposed to them at various stages of development--that should come into play.

In my daughter's case they x-rayed, then put the suppository in. Why that order? The suppository caused the problem to be resolved within seconds and the x-rays ended up being completely pointless. The suppositories should have gone in first, and my daughter should have been spared the damaging effects of radiation.

 

[AP]

Have you asked the neonatal team why thy did that in that order?

 

[WantsALittle1]

Yes, but I'm not really getting good answers. The doctor who did the x-ray isn't here today and our baby's regular neonate is very sweet but doesn't really answer questions directly. I asked if it was because they didn't know how long it would take the suppository to work, and she sorta dissembled into some talk about gastrointestinal upset. Meeting with the head of Neonatalogy in about a half hour, so hopefully I'll get better answers.

 

[WantsALittle1]

Update:

Talked to the head of the NICU. The answer is that NEC is such a fast-acting threat that they didn't want to wait to see if the suppository worked and compromise my daughter's intestinal health. As for radiation during infancy and later health effects, this doctor said that there really are no good studies that show a conclusive link between x-rays in premature infants and future fertility issues and cancer incidence. There are too many confounding factors. Finally, my daughters gonads weren't shielded because in an abdominal x-ray where it's important to see the entire digestive tract, that part of the abdomen must also be x-rayed.

I don't know what else to do except ask the NICU to call me whenever they plan to x-ray so that I have a chance to speak up.

 

[Sam182]

It's very difficult being in NICU and you will be feeling an immense amount of upset and anger but the staff are just doing what is best for your daughter. My son had numerous X-rays and not once did I question why. They wouldn't do it unless they had to.