Ordinarily you’d do a CT scan, but we try to avoid those in pregnancy as they involve a large quantity of X-ray exposure, and anyone who’s stayed up for the late-night horror movie can tell you that radiation plus baby is not a good idea. I’ve had the mechanism of MRIs explained to me any number of times and I’m still none the wiser, but no X-rays are involved; images are obtained using a combination of protons, magic, and an enormous fucking magnet. And I mean enormous, the size and weight of a one-bedroom flat. The MRI checklist asks if the patient’s got a metal heart valve (it would tear
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