Protection of the unborn child in diagnostic and interventional radiological procedures

The radiation exposure of an unborn child should be principally avoided, whenever it is medically reasonably possible; therefore, the identification of pregnant patients is the first and the most important step in radiation protection of the unborn child. However, in cases of emergency saving the life of the patient has a higher priority than the radiation protection of the unborn child. In this review article, we present a longitudinal section through the national and international literature and guidelines as a basis for radiological management of a (possibly) pregnant patient. We also list some radiological procedures recommended in the literature for a series of maternal indications considering the contraindications of each method during pregnancy and radiation protection of the unborn child.