hello...firstly sorry for the essay! i think it's a good idea to speak to your doctor and ask him/her for copies of or the actual abnormal results from your previous smears. were they abnormal or borderline? If they were abnormal do you know what grade they were? And ask them if it is ABSOLUTELY neccessary to have the colp whilst you are pregnant. You can also ask whether your abnormal result indicated any sign of the hpv virus at all.
By being so aware of your results you are doing EXACTLY the right thing and going for the colposcopy is also the right thing to do but i am under the impression that it is safe to postpone the colposcopy until after pregnancy.
I had a colposcopy in June this year and am due to go back in June next year but i will only just have had the baby in May so they have moved it to August next year instead now.
I had 1 x borderline smear, then a normal one, then another borderline and after becoming so worried that i had cervical cancer they referred me for the colposcopy. My mum died of cervical cancer when she was 35 and so did her mother (in her thirtys also).
My doctor explained that the results (borderline, CIN1, CIN2, CIN3, CIN4) can take several years to develop into actual pre-cancerous cells and she advised to go ahead and try for a baby even before i had my colposcopy results! She said borderline or abnormal are SOOO close to being normal that even having an infection or being run down may affect the results and give you a borderline/abnoral result. I also felt more at ease when she checked my lab report and said there was no sign of the HPV virus in any of my borline results.
I was so relieved to have that colposcopy which showed everything was normal that the relief was immense and it was only after this we felt comfortable to start trying for a baby. I had been reassured by many different proffesionals that there was no way that cervical cancer could develop so quickly that the length of a pregnancy could affect it.
Everyone i have spoken to has said it is completely safe to leave smears, colposcopys, EVEN TREATMENT for pre-cancerous cells until after the baby has been born. The cytologist at my doctors (who remembers my mum) assured me that she has even had ladies who have fallen pregnant, then received their smear results saying they need treatment and even THEY have been told it's ok to wait til after the baby born.
However on the other hand, having had a colposcopy, i know that it is quite a simple , painless procedure and that the "colposcope" is simply a massive magnifying glass through which they "look" at your cervix. They also painted on a simple iodine solution to my cervix (again completely painless) and they are able to "see" if there are any abnormalities. So i can sort of see how they would say it is harmless to the baby but i would still be nervous of the procedure like yourself! But remember they are only going to LOOK at it (no biopsys etc).
i completley understand your worry and i thought it was a really good idea of yours to have the colp just before your scan and then you can be reassured by the scan that it has not affected the baby at all. but i also think that by speaking to the doctor and explaining your fears they might be able to reassure you it is fine to wait until after the birth. Ask them to explain the findings on all of your lab reports, whether you were tested for HPVand def find out what "grade" the abnormal cells were.
you are doing EXACTLY the right thing by being so aware of your results and keeping up to date with your smears / colposcopys. I have been reassured over and over again by my doctor and the cytologist from the lab that by being SO aware of your results that anything that is detected is almost 100% treatable. It is those people who do not keep up to date with smears etc or who have never had one who are the most in danger.
Good luck with whatever you decide , but if you decide not to go for the colposcopy whilst pregnant then ring up now and get yourself booked in for it for 3 months after the baby is born. Whatever decision you make will be the right one - you are doing the right thing by thinking carefully about what is safe for both you and the baby. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and don't worry about the procedure itself whenever you have it.... in particular after childbirth it will seem like a walk in the park! It really is completely painless... take care x x x
