The health consequences can be severe, even at radiation doses too low to make the mother sick. Such consequences can include stunted growth, deformities, abnormal brain function, or cancer that may develop sometime later in life.

Can radiation cause mutations?

Radiation may alter the DNA within any cell. Cell damage and death that result from mutations in somatic cells occur only in the organism in which the mutation occurred and are therefore termed somatic or nonheritable effects. Cancer is the most notable long-term somatic effect.

What birth defects are caused by radiation?

“These birth defects include a reduction in height, severe mental retardation, small head size and impaired brain development, the latter of which may indirectly reduce an individual's intelligence quotient (IQ) and school performance” (Washington State Dept of Health).