Pap smear while pregnant?

[naturemama]

Is it normal to have a pap smear done while pregnant? I'm feeling a little uncomfortable about it and don't know if I'm being unreasonable. Are there any dangers or problems that could occur because of it? Or is it something that maybe could prevent a problem?
I know I could just ask the "professionals", but I also know that their answer will be that "of course it's necessary". I am just feeling like I want the least amount of medical intervention possible during this pregnancy. (it's my 4th)

All input and advice welcome!

[Starfire]

I never do one while pg, but I do have them done on a yearly basis, but if anything comes up abnormal they try and do a byopsy, now that is when they cut a peice off, and that can send you into labor, miscarrage, and have complications. And most times they wait till after baby is born anyways to do a byopsy. So I tell them they can wait to do the pap too.

[velveeta]

My former midwife (note the FORMER) gave me one, and I just accepted it b/c I thought that I needed it. It really hurt, and I bled afterwards! This was at 12 weeks, BTW.

She gave me that and a test for gonorrhea b/c she asked if I had *ever* had partners other than DH. I just said "yes," not realizing what she was *really* asking. If she had asked if I had been tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia before I could have told her yes and they were negative! I felt really dumb later. :

I don't really think it is necessary -- the pap smear. Bottom line is that it is your decision.

Good luck and good health to you!


Jean

[Peppamint]

Well, I had one and it was horrible. I've switched from that OB to a midwife for a homebirth... but anyway.

It was the most painful pap smear I'd ever had. Turns out two of my acquaintances had gotten pap smears from this female OB and she's just really rough.

Well, figure I got a pap in Feb02, Oct02: ifI get my 6w pp pap, I will have 3 pap smears in about 15 months!

I plan on waiting until Oct to have another, that will be one year after my last pap. I guess I'll have to find a new OB/GYN by then!

If it doesn't feel right- don't do it!!!!

[MysticHealerMom]

Mine wanted one. I had one in February, but there's some sketchy stuff about HPPV III in my past, and your cervix does change quite a bit in pg. Some things can be accelerated. If you've had a pap within the last year, and you've never had an abnormal one - Skip it.

If there's a good reason why they want one, like it's been a while or you've had a strange test or cervical warts or cancer, it's prly a good idea to keep up on it because it's just a small piece of tissue from outside the cervix - at least, it should be. And it will prly bleed blecause your cervix is full of blood now and busy doing clamping, mucus producing stuff. Heck, you can make it bleed by being constipated or having sex.

I was worried about messing with my cervix while pg, like, it's a time capsule that shouldn't be disturbed (and I see it that way for a lot of things), but aparently the cervix is always rebuilding the mucus plug, one reason why you get some discharge during pg. They told me it's fairly fluid, changing all the time and compensating for the new stresses of the growing babe. So, it's not generally going to spring open, but it can take a little bumping around, too.

HTH

Lori

[Ame]

I had one at 7 months because we moved (to another state) and I thought I needed a new OB. She refused to see me wothout one even though I had my results from my last OB that did my yearly right before I goot pregnant. It was the most traumatic and unnessasy event of all 3 of my pregnancies. I was told it can not harm the baby ( afterward by the ER) but I would think that the severe bleeding which leads to extreme stress could cause preterm labor or miscarraige.

[sea island mama]

Well, I just had one at my last midwife appt (16 weeks). I hadn't realized I hadn't had one since before I got pregnant with dd (over 3 years!). I really trust my midwife & it was fine, once she found my cervix, which took a while! Didn't hurt & didn't have any bleeding.

[Evergreen]

my midwife doesn't do them while pg, she says that most paps while pregnant come up falsley abnormal. i decided to have her check for chlamydia and gonnorrhea anyway in the last month so i would feel totally reassured about refusing the eye goop.

[birthinglau]

I had a pap at about 6 weeks I think, back in july. it was my decision, b/c I had an abnormal pap back in oct. of last year, and wanted to be sure there wasn't anything going on. I had actually scheduled the pap before knowing I was pregnant, but found out that day for sure when I went in to get the pap.

it WAS painful, but I think that has to do with who performs it and how you feel about it, more than anything else. I did not have any spotting.

as someone else mentioned - they can and probably will screen for gonorrhea and chlamydia using the pap, which is a good thing, particularly if you don't want to put that yucky ointment in baby's eyes following birth. they give that ointment as a prophylaxis to prevent blindness in newborns caused by exposure to gonorrhea. it's obviously not necessary though if mom has one only partner and tested neg. in early pregnancy.

if it bothers you but you still decide to do it - make sure your care provider knows, and promises to be gentle with you.

-Lau

[Rebekah]

I had one two during my first prenatal visit. I wasn't sure whether to do it (and hadn't planned on it), but the nurse practitioner said that it was a good idea because I was coming up on the one-year mark. I gave in. I didn't have any problems, no bleeding or anything.

[MysticHealerMom]

Originally posted by Ame
I was told it can not harm the baby ( afterward by the ER) but I would think that the severe bleeding which leads to extreme stress could cause preterm labor or miscarraige.

You are absolutely right. The presense of blood (I'm not sure to what degree) can cause the cervix to open and premature labor to commense. This is why they didn't remove my cranky polyp in the docs office and waited to do it in surgery, where they could control the bleeding better. They said if the polyp got squished by the pressure of the baby pushing down on it, it could start to bleed and cause preterm labor.

Not all pap's cause bleeding, but your cervix is sensitive and you've got a history of cranky reactions to pap smears, I'd ask them to avoid it. Unless they can come up with a better reason than "this is what we do". Bah

Good luck.

Lori

[clevah girl]

I have had a Pap with all 3 of my pregnancies. They always just seemed to coincide with the time I was due for my annual anyway. I've never had any problems.

[LunaMoom]

I had one done in my first trimester because it had been a while.There was no bleeding or trouble but the results were abnormal and I was sent by my midwife to an ob for a colposcopy (where they look at your cervix with a sort of magnifying doodad). they want to do a biopsy and check it out closer after I deliver,and that seems resonable,although it's very possible that pregnancy caused it to look abnormal on the tests. The whole thing was pretty stressful,waiting might have been better.

[MysticHealerMom]

Yeah, during the time I had the abnormal/HPPV stuff I was pg, and the doc said that it definately could have contributed to the results. Never had an abnormal smear since, so I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Geeze.

[XM]

I had one when I was about 20 weeks with Xiola, just because it had been a few years. My doc was very gentle and it was over in a wink, and I did not bleed at all. This time I may pass, just because I am not worried about me having anything funky going on...

You just have to do what feels right for you. If you have a good caretaker it should not be an ordeal, but it sounds like some people are less then gentle when giving a pap and that's no good, pregnant or not! But many test results can be thrown off by pregnancy (for example, pregnancy is one of 40 conditions that can cause a false positive on an HIV test) and that is a consideration as well.

[momileigh]

I HATE pap smears so I've sworn them off for good. I'm very lucky though because dh and I have never had any other partners, so I don't have any reason to have one. It irked me to pieces that all my doctors insisted anyway, until I realized that hey, I can insist too!

I finally found a doctor who is on my side about this, and she told me that the main reason they "require" yearly paps is because if they didn't, they'd never get women to come in at all. She said that most women don't need paps more than once every three years or five years, if you've never had an abnormality and aren't sexually at risk.

[pamamidwife]

Many medical based providers do Paps at the first prenatal visit. I don't do them for a number of reasons, but here are a few of my main reasons:

* I don't like the idea of messing with the cervix early in pregnancy
* I think an initial prenatal is a vulnerable time for women and getting all naked right off the bat is uncomfortable for many women
* The cervix changes so much in preg - esp early preg - that it's common to get abnormal results. Which usually means another Pap after preg. Why not just wait until after preg?
* It's EXTREMELY rare to have a cancer that is so fast spreading that it is risky to your pregnancy


For myself, I do Paps every five years or so and I feel fine with my decision to do so.

[Galatea]

I always cramp and bleed after paps, so when I went for my 1st OB appt when pg with ds, the evil jerkoff OB said I had to have one and I said no and he said I had to and I cried and cried and cried but refused it anyway. I never did get it done and I didn't die of cervical cancer. So they can shove it up their butts!

[momileigh]

LOL Galatea!!!! :LOL

[phathui5]

When I was pregnant with ds, they did a Pap and it came up with abnormal cells. They talked me into doing a colposcopy and a biopsy (which was very painful to me). I had bleeding afterwards and ended up going in for an ultrasound to make sure that the bleeding was just from what they did to me.

With dd I had the Pap and it came out normal.

I'm not planning to have one while I'm pregnant with this baby. They can do it at the pp visit.