this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2025
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If she's going to need a CT scan then it's a sensible question.
Radiation exposure has risks to foetuses so if there is any chance of pregnancy then the women needs to know so she can make an informed choice about proceeding with a CT scan. In a trauma situation such as being singed following battling a dragon, the CT scan would probably still need to happen regardless.
That's not what happens though.
What happens is they ask you when your last period was. You tell them. They insist on a pregnancy test anyway. You say you don't care if you're pregnant, will immediately abort any fetus, and you understand the risks. They refuse to do anything at all until you take the pregnancy test anyway. And now you're in danger if you're in a red state and the test does come back up positive, because they'll be stalking your movements now.
Female: "not necessary - me and my partner have been trying for years now but never could conceive; it's okay though, she tries her best regardless"
Nurse: ".....oh"
My friend had her uterus removed and they still force her to take the standard pregnancy test when she comes in. Like, it's right there in the chart that it's not physically possible!
Thank health insurance lawyers for that. Unintentionally terminating a pregnancy or causing a birth defect is prohibitively expensive for healthcare providers. If we could all agree not to sue for malpractice, doctors would be more free to use their own judgement. Of course, the more doctors you know, the less comforting that thought might be.
Yeah, that's not a safe agreement to make. Even in saner countries.
She needs to make an informed choice. SHE. So tell her the scan (and perhaps some other aspects of treatment, like medication/anesthesia) has risks to a fetus and ask if she could be pregnant, even offer a test if there's a possibility.
And make sure that question is asked and answered in private!
But her cycle timing is not necessarily relevant. It's highly unlikely to get pregnant during your period, but possible since your ovaries alternate and can be out of sync. Meanwhile, someone who hasn't had sperm anywhere near her in six months isn't gonna be pregnant even if it's been three since her LMP.
What would you do if she were unconscious, refuse to treat in case it might harm a hypothetical fetus? You might say that's ridiculous but it's happening in 6-week ban states now. And when women are pregnant and miscarrying they've died of sepsis because there was still a fetal heartbeat.
Everything you said is accurate, with one caveat: patients are often ignorant about the mechanics of pregnancy. Reproductive health education is shockingly insufficient among the population. "Could you be pregnant?" is not a useful question unless you're sure that the patient understands how pregnancy works. Asking for the date of their last cycle is at the very least a data point that has some diagnostic value. "No, I can't be pregnant because my boyfriend always pulls out" is a statement that contains a lot of information, but none of it has diagnostic value. You would still need to ask all the questions related to possible pregnancy.
That said, you're right that the timing isn't necessarily informative, either. And double down on asking these, or any, questions in private.
I don't live in the states. I haven't been asked this question preceding scans, prescriptions or other interventions since I was a teenager. In fact, I was at the hospital today and wasn't even asked if I could be pregnant.
This indirect beating around the bush takes away women's choice and autonomy, it almost feels like a trick. I'm not menopausal and I don't often get my period, so it wouldn't be a good indicator for many women, anyway, and delays care.
I’ll never not pronounce this foe-tusses