Is X-Rays safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about X-Rays. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
X-rays used to obtain dental images, x-rays of broken bones, chest x-rays, etc. are a form of electromagnetic radiation similar to light, but with a shorter wavelength. X-rays are present only during the time that the image is being taken and leave no radiation or radioactivity in the body or in milk. Diagnostic X-rays have no known effect on the milk in the breast at the time of imaging, nor on milk production. No special precautions are required.[1]
For information on contrast media used with x-rays, see the LactMed entry for the specific contrast agent. For information on high-dose therapeutic radiation, see the LactMed record on Radiotherapy.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that X-Rays is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “X-Rays” (LM562). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.