One of the preoperative tests for IVF and IUI is a chest X-ray, and many patients are nervous about this test and are reluctant to undergo it or are concerned about its effects on pregnancy and the fetus. However, in order to ensure the safety of the procedure and pregnancy, a chest X-ray is necessary to rule out pulmonary pathologies, especially tuberculosis, and some occult pathologies may not have obvious symptoms. So, what are the radiation effects of a chest X-ray? Many women who are unintentionally pregnant and think they are not aware of it because of irregular menstruation happen to have X-ray medical examinations, such as fluoroscopy or chest X-ray, during their medical checkups, and when they find out they are pregnant, they are worried about whether it will affect the fetus and whether it is necessary to terminate the pregnancy. Effects of X-rays on the embryo or fetus 1. Miscarriage Within 33 days of pregnancy (calculated from the start of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman) is the period of reaction to external risk factors affecting the embryo or fetus: during this period, the embryo may receive too much X-rays and miscarriage may occur, but this type of very early miscarriage may have no obvious manifestations, also known as “biochemical pregnancy”. A woman may only feel that her menstruation is delayed for a few days, and a careful woman will find a positive HCG (chorionic gonadotropin) in a urine test; if there is no miscarriage, the risk of other problems with the fetus will not increase significantly. 2, teratogenic After 33 days of pregnancy to the end of 3 months is the teratogenic sensitive period, during which a large number of organs of the fetus concentrate on development, but there are also some organs whose teratogenic sensitive period will last until late pregnancy. The fetus between 4 and 22 weeks of gestation is most susceptible to ionizing radiation and malformation. Theoretically, a fetal malformation may occur when a pregnant woman receives a radiation dose of 5~15 rad. The radiation dose of common X-ray examination is 0.00007rad for a single X-ray chest X-ray, and it takes 71,429 times to exceed the minimum standard of 5rad. The radiation dose of X-ray chest X-ray is about 5~10 times of chest X-ray, and it takes more than 7000 times to exceed the standard by the most 10 times. Dental X-ray examination is 0.0001 rad for a single time, and it takes 50,000 times to exceed the standard. Barium enema X-ray examination is 3.986rad, and abdominal CT is 2.6rad, and it takes 2 times to exceed the limit. 3, carcinogenic X-rays can increase the risk of malignant tumors (such as childhood leukemia) in fetuses after birth. Compared with those who are not exposed to radiation, the risk of malignant tumor in early, middle and late pregnancy is 3.19 times, 1.29 times and 1.30 times. The incidence of malignant tumors is usually very low. Some studies have shown that after exposure to 0.5 rad, the chance of adverse effects increases by only 0.017% from the original risk, which means that only about 1 in 6,000 fetuses exposed to this dose of x-ray radiation will have an adverse outcome as a result. Ultrasound is a commonly performed test in obstetrics. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), like ultrasound, is not a radioactive test and does not produce ionizing radiation. In clinical practice, most of the MRI examinations are done when the pregnant woman has other diseases that need further identification and treatment, and conventional examinations such as B-ultrasound fail to confirm the diagnosis. To be less exposed to radiation, playing with the phone less is the truth!