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Is it safe to conceive a month after getting a barium swallow test done?

Dr Ashok Khurana
Director, Genitourinary and Vascular Ultrasound,
The Ultrasound Lab,
New Delhi

Q: I had a barium swallow (upper GI test) performed around a month back. I will be ovulating in about 2 weeks and I am trying to get pregnant. Is it unsafe for me to try to conceive soon after having been exposed to radiation.

A:A Barium Swallow/Upper GI series has no effect on the ova which will develop in the next few cycles and, therefore, it is completely safe to try for a pregnancy in this cycle. One needs to be careful, nonetheless, of any medication one may be taking for the digestive ailment for which the test was required the first place.