“Can a CT scan be harmful to an unborn child?”

there is an unknown risk. no proven risks have been shown. Obviously you want to avoid radiation when pregnant, but if you inadvertently had one, there is nothing you can do and there is no PROVEN risk. So don't worry about it.

Yes, but it depends on what body part of mother is being studied. For example, a head ct with proper abdominal shielding would be low risk as fetus not in direct Xray beam. But a CT of abdomen and pelvis would include the fetus with potential risk for birth defects highest in early stages of pregnancy, less so later in pregnancy. Depending on condition of mother a CT may sometimes be needed. MRI is a radiation free alternative and of course, ultrasound as well. Hope that helps

CT scans use very low levels of radiation, but the amount they use in a single scan has not been shown to be harmful to babies. We try to avoid CT during pregnancy. We also want to avoid imaging the abdominal area directly with CT if we can in a pregnant woman, because in theory this could very slightly increase risk to the baby, but this has not been proven. A very important thing to remember is that if the CT is needed to make sure mom is healthy, this will keep the baby healthy as well.

In general, getting a CT scan should be avoided in a pregnant woman, especially in the first trimester. Fortunately, we have good alternatives, like MRI, which is considered safe during pregnancy at all stages. A patient should ask their doctor if they can get an MRI instead. If not, they may be able to wait till the delivery to get their CT scan. Also, there are some diseases where we need to find an answer because there is a serious situation where we need more information that may affect the mother or baby's health. In those instances, the benefit of getting a CT scan may outweigh the risks. However, those instances are unusual, and should be treated on a case by case basis. Here is the link to the ACR guideline that states that MRI is safe during pregnancy at all stages: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwikmbfOhKPrAhVjkuAKHYyzDhMQFjABegQIDBAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.acr.org%2F-%2Fmedia%2FACR%2FFiles%2FPractice-Parameters%2Fmr-fetal.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0JCdORdWDny_Hk9sZ4JIS-