What Happens During an MRI for Children?

It’s normal to have a lot of questions about what can happen during the test—particularly how to prepare a child physically and mentally for the experience.

Is MRI Safe for Children?

Data from 40 years of scanning show that MRI is very safe for kids. “It is used routinely,” says Diego Jaramillo, MD, MPH, FACR, Director of Pediatric Imaging at HSS. Sometimes, MRI can require injection of a type of dye that allows the radiologist to better see structures in the body. But “most studies [also called scans] do not require injections,” he says. “Contrast is injected in a minority of cases, and it is very safe.”

Also, faster scanning times—some MRI scans for kids can be completed in about 10 minutes—advanced technology and artificial intelligence are making the process easier.

When Should a Child Get an MRI?

Patients are usually referred from their pediatrician or a pediatric orthopedic specialist. “Before sending a child for an MRI, it is best to have a radiograph [X-ray] and ensure there’s been a physical exam of the child,” says Dr. Jaramillo. “If the physical examination and the radiograph suggest that it's necessary to see something that we're not seeing there, then we consider doing an MRI.”

MRI is often used for the following situations in kids:

• To identify physical structures that can’t be seen by other techniques, like cartilage, bone marrow, muscles, ligaments and nerves. Because children are still growing, the main structures of the child’s skeleton are made of cartilage.
• To search for diseases like malformations, inflammation, torn or strained ligaments and tumors.
• To obtain functional information about things like growth plate activity.

“If we're worried about something in the cartilage, we need to do an MRI,” Dr. Jaramillo says. “If we’re concerned there’s a problem with the bone marrow, an infection for example, or if there’s a problem with the soft tissues and muscles—especially if we can’t see the problem with X-rays—we’ll have an MRI done.”

The radiologist and pediatric musculoskeletal specialists will review the scans and then the specialist often shares the results with the primary care doctor and the parents.

Preparing a Child for MRI

Children of any age can get an MRI. How old a child is will give you a good idea of how to prepare them for an MRI. The scanning process can be loud, distracting, and scary if the child isn’t told what to expect beforehand.

Babies: Newborns and infants are kept awake overnight and arrive hungry for the MRI scan. In the MRI area, the child is fed and wrapped tightly with a blanket, which usually puts an exhausted child to sleep during the MRI.

Children under age 6: Usually, children under age 6 will receive an MRI under sedation. They’ll be put under general anesthesia, which means they’ll be relaxed and sleepy but may not be awake. However, a recent study from Lerner Children’s Pavilion at HSS including nearly 2,000 children and other pediatric MRI studies show a decreased need for sedation if children received support from certified child life specialists before the procedure.

Older teens: The way to help a teen who is getting an MRI is to provide distraction during the scan. “Teenagers tend to be a little more fidgety sometimes, and that's where distraction is very important,” says Dr. Jaramillo.

A parent or caregiver can go into the MRI room with the child but they have to follow all of the necessary MRI screening protocols as well. Metallic objects of any kind are not allowed into the MRI room. The technologist will make sure that nobody has anything metallic for everyone’s safety.

If you’re wondering how long an MRI for children can take, the answer is that it depends on how many imaging sequences are needed, if the child is able to stay still for the procedure, as well as if they will receive an IV line for contrast. In general, Dr. Jaramillo says an average estimated time for a pediatric MRI scan is 30 minutes when the child isn’t sedated.

What Happens During an MRI for Kids

At HSS, the process may begin with a call from a child life specialist before the scan to discuss the procedure with the parent or caregiver and the child over the phone or on a video call, says Dr. Jaramillo. They might show videos to the children that explain what’s going to happen, demonstrate with models, and answer any questions the child or parent might have about the MRI process for kids.

The HSS radiology department will give instructions to parents and caregivers including guidelines for eating and drinking, ensuring all piercings and other metallic objects are removed, and safety precautions for the day of the scan.

For children who have metallic devices or implants, it is important to know the type of device in order to ensure that it is safe to do an MRI. Most orthopedic hardware (screws, nails, and pins) and dental braces can be imaged without concern but may require special imaging.

During the MRI, the child will be placed into the magnet of the MRI unit. Which part of the body and how far into the machine depend on the area that needs to be examined. The MRI exam can include several runs or sequences which last a few minutes each and make loud noises.

Depending on the child’s age, they can listen to music, watch a movie (if the facility has the technology like HSS does), and most importantly, they’ll wear noise-cancelling headphones to help reduce issues with the loud noises. They will need to be as still as possible while a technician is using a computer in another room to take the images needed.

After MRI for Kids

If the child completed the MRI without sedation, they should be fine to go about their activities the rest of the day.

If the child had an MRI with sedation and received anesthesia, they will spend some time after the scan in the post-anesthesia care unit to recover for about two hours.

The child will likely feel tired the rest of the day and should take it easy. They might be given something to eat in the post-care area. The child who received sedation shouldn’t return to school, sports, or drive that same day.

Published 9/24/2025

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