smear test

[Sarah&Braydon]

wen i last saw my health visitor she sed that u have to have a smear test now 6 months after having a baby!!!
as i am only 18 i have never had one and as B is now 3.5 months old i was wondering if this is true and wot exactly happens - i am prob going to sound really stupid but the thought of people going up there is petrifying me - even tho i have been thro labour etc but before the labour i was dreading someone wanting to go up there !! lol
so can anyone explains wot happens etc

 

[stephlw25]

Well i have to say they arent the most pleasent of things im afraid but if you relax and try not to tence up then it does help. they arent too painful as such just uncomfortable.
As a student nurse i have seen LOADS done!!!
first they put a speculum in and open your vagina so that they are able to see your cervix, then with a wooden spatula like instrument which is hook shaped at the end they put this just slightly in your cervix and scrap the outside by doing a circular motion all the way round to obtain some cells from the cervix!

ok sorry its not as bad as it sounds honestly

Trust me its a lot worse watching someone have it done than having one done yourself!!!

 

[lulu]

Hi Sarah,

It really isn't that bad. I dont know if you had a 'sweep' whilst pregnant but its not as bad as that.
It is very quick and you wonder what you were worried about after wards.

I had my first one when I was about 21/22. I was dreading it as I had experienced a sexual assault not long before and I was also in Germany with the Army at the time so I didnt know what to expect from the medical centres over there.
It was over very quickly.
You can also request a female doctor if you dont feel comfortable with a male doctor.

At the end of the day it is very important to have one done. Its not the nicest thing in the world but the consequences of not having one could be a whole lot worse!!!

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

thank u girls - i will have one but i still worry lol
no lulu i didnt have a sweep thankfully B came before that lol

 

[Layla]

it really isnt that bad Sarah hun, it does sound alot worse than it is.

its over and done with within seconds, i had my first one at 16 and then every 3 years after that.

as long as you dont tense up to much, its easy

xx

 

I don't think they are that bad. I've never been too bothered about having doctors/nurses having to look there. They did enough whilst I was pregnant! Just relax. My first one was when I was 19 the month before I got pregnant with Damien in fact.

 

[Zor-El]

ive never hd one but when i went for my 6 weeks check nurse said the age has been moved to 25 maybe its just my area?

 

[stephlw25]

I was going to add about the age too!! it used to be 3 years after youve been sexually active, but they have found that this is too soon to detect any abnormalities. So the age to start smears now is 25 !

 

It's 25 if you've not had a baby or every 3 years post birth isn't it?

 

[Zor-El]

hope so that means i got another 4yrs before mine

 

[Kim]

I thought it was 18??