Bleeding and cramping after pap smear test

[ProudMum]

Why did they give you a smear when you're pregnant?

i was JUST gonna say this.. not only is it unsafe but it'll give you abnormal results...... then your next will also give you an abnormal- which is likely to be followed by treatment. Not good.

 

[Ashley8806]

it is routinely done here in the us... there is no danger to it, just bleeding thats the same with bleeding after sex.... they know how to analyze the results, otherwise there would be millions of women getting unneccesary treatment.

 

[ProudMum]

it is routinely done here in the us... there is no danger to it, just bleeding thats the same with bleeding after sex.... they know how to analyze the results, otherwise there would be millions of women getting unneccesary treatment.

there Are millions of women being treated unneccesarily for these so called Abnormal smears.
To save 1 life from cervical cancer, 10 thousand women have to be screened. Half of which will received treatment they didnt need...

 

[Ashley8806]

well everyone i know has never had any problems or abnormal results from papsmears during pregnancy...and i even worked in an ob office before... im not going to argue especially on someone elses thread they asked a question about and instead people are criticizing the us because they are not used to how things are here... just seems there is a lot of criticizing to the us on here and it gets o
ld to read.

 

[ProudMum]

well everyone i know has never had any problems or abnormal results from papsmears during pregnancy...and i even worked in an ob office before... im not going to argue especially on someone elses thread they asked a question about and instead people are criticizing the us because they are not used to how things are here... just seems there is a lot of criticizing to the us on here and it gets o
ld to read.

criticizing the US? I lived in the country for 7 years. Im not doing anything of the sort.

 

[lesbianlove]

no offence to the US but i think anything that gives you bad cramping and bleeding cant be good id be worried out my head as this lady is

 

[ProudMum]

no offence to the US but i think anything that gives you bad cramping and bleeding cant be good id be worried out my head as this lady is

I second this. They're not good.

 

[Chaos]

Why did they give you a smear when you're pregnant?

i was JUST gonna say this.. not only is it unsafe but it'll give you abnormal results...... then your next will also give you an abnormal- which is likely to be followed by treatment. Not good.

Seriously, that's not true. Are you trying to scare people??? It's just different countries, different practices. You think a whole country of Drs are trying to get malpractice suits? Just because it's not normal practice there it does not make it 'unsafe'. These people went to medical school for years and know what they are doing. At the end of the day the woman has the right to refuse it. It's not like they are tied down whilst it's done.

The bleeding has zero to do with the baby, its from the cervix. During pregnancy its' SO engorged with blood simple sex can make it bleed more. Every time you have sex and cum during pregnancy your womb goes in to Braxton hick type contractions. Is that dangerous too? Are you going to stop having sex all the time you're pregnant? The smear is also used to look for vaginal infections. (Along with the by-law STD test that has to be a swab)

Sure you have your own opinion and that's fine, but typing something that is along the lines of "you're get false abnormal results and it will be a wasted treatment" is absolutely irresponsible and could prevent someone who has serious valid changes from getting treated. People can be very impressionable by what they read on the internet and can take written word as law. It's why Google is such a bugger.

 

[WayTruthLife]

I had a pelvic exam 2 days ago and have my having brown discharge ever since. Sometimes, light pink. It is extremely scary but I just keep telling myself that if something was wrong, the dr would have seen it right? So it's probably because the cervix is sensitive. **hug**

 

[Lillybloss]

From a medical training background I can only say the here in the uk we don't do smears during pregnancy because the results can be invalid due to the pregnancy hormones and the effects they can have on the cervix. However it may be that in the us they have different lab analysis techniques which analyze the samples differently and so get more accurate results in pregnancy.

 

[Bebica]

It's common practice in the US to do pap smears on pregnant ladies. I didn't know it wasn't in the UK.

Don't scare me!!!! I go see my ob tomorrow for the first time and I am over 10 weeks and she may do pap...Don't know why she didn't do it when I was there at 6 weeks.Don't remember if they did it in my previous pregnancies but if they did it was very very early because I saw the doctor at my first visit.Both times I was in Cali too...

 

[MyTurnYet]

Why did they give you a smear when you're pregnant?

i was JUST gonna say this.. not only is it unsafe but it'll give you abnormal results...... then your next will also give you an abnormal- which is likely to be followed by treatment. Not good.

I just want to say it was pretty heartless to post this on someone's thread who is already worried about spotting. Also, it's simply untrue.

jrmorris, many women (me for one) have had spotting after pap smears and it is both normal and safe. My dr. assured me that this is due to your cervix being sensitive and full of blood and is nothing to worry about. Of course you can always refuse the pap if you are worried, but too late for that now. Listen to what YOUR DOCTOR says. I would definitely call them for reassurance, if it makes you feel better.

 

[MyTurnYet]

Bebica, I think you can refuse it if you're worried. I almost wish I did because I could've done without the spotting, but it is normal to have a pap in the US and normal to have a bit of spotting. So, if you do get it done and have spotting, please don't panic. I even spotted a little from a transvaginal ultrasound. Dr. assured me that it's completely normal.

 

[cyclingmama]

I just had my first OB visit at 8 weeks and my husband was with me. All went well and he left so I could have the pap, which I thought she'd skip since it's been less than a year and I've had a miscarriage in the past and I'm older. Nope. So the day I left I was fine but the next day I began to bleed (yesterday). She never warned me that I'd bleed and I was stuck at a church confirmation ceremony and had to step out to call the Dr's office. The weekend nurse said it was normal to have "some bleeding" but to keep an eye on it over the weekend. Go the ER if it gets extreme or if I see tissue and on Monday they'll give me an ultrasound.

I asked why they would give a pap during pregnancy and she said it was early detection for HPV which can harm the baby. Also said that any "trauma" to the cervix can result in bleeding. (If it's considered a trauma then why do they do it???) She said nothing goes into the uterus it's just the cervical opening so there's no harm to the baby. Yeah, tell that to my husband. He's so angry that they messed with it this early. I am too of course but it was amazing how made he got.

I left the service and went straight to bed and began cramping and bleeding more. The blood has been red, then brown, and now is red with some mucous. The bleeding has subsided and then returned but I haven't seen any clots. Reading this has made me feel a little better but I'm still freaked out and my husband is ready to blame them if this induced a miscarriage.

Fingers crossed for a good outcome and wishing the same to anyone else going through this right now. My thoughts are with you!

 

[babybaillie]

where i come from they wont allow u to have a smear while pregnant due to risk of m/c

 

[janeybaby]

Here in the UK it is not recommended to carry out pap smear tests during pregnancy. I just had a letter inviting me to have mine. It come with a booklet that had info about being pregnant and having smear's IT IS NOT DONE. You have to inform your doctor that you are expecting and they need to inform the smear department that you are expecting. You will then be offered your smear 3 months after baby arrives.

I once had a smear done while I was expecting (I didn't know at the time) the results came back abnormal. They asked me to have a repeat one in 6 months however I knew I was expecting so postponed until baby was 3 months. The results came back fine, when I asked the consultant she said it is very likely that the abnormal result was because of the changes to my cervix during early pregnancy. She said as a rule they don't perform smears on pregnant ladies as they won't get a true result.

I find it strange how ladies in the US are offered them during pregnancy. I wouldn't have it done.

During pregnancy your cervix is softer more sensitive and has more bloodflow so bleeding after any form of abrasion to it will cause bleeding!!

 

[Hansie]

Why did they give you a smear when you're pregnant?

I dont think they give you a smear when your pg in the UK. TBH I cant understand why they would go poking about

 

[cyclingmama]

Thanks ladies, it's good to know that this is NOT done in other countries. If I could do this all over again I would refuse and offer to do it at the 6 week post partum visit and walk out. Some US doctors can exert a lot of pressure so this would require standing your ground and not giving in as I suspect some may hound you during each monthly visit.

(skip this if it's TMI)

Last night the bleeding slowed down and I was hopeful. I changed my pad and then felt something slip through. I looked down and it was a giant clot. I called for my husband and dissolved into tears. We called the Dr's office and I have an appointment for an ultrasound this morning. The thing is, the clot was much bigger than what an embryo would be by 8 weeks. It was 1.5 inches and most of what I read says 1/2 and inch is about the size at 8 weeks. Also, they were worried that I'd have a lot of bleeding and would have to go to the ER but I haven't bled much at all. So I'm not sure what's going on. I'll post again when I have more news.

All I can say to US women is if you can skip the pap, that makes sense to me. The trauma to your uterus is not worth it and the possible false irregular reading may cause them to want to intervene while you are with child. Why would you want to mess with a precious start at life?

 

[Ashley8806]

I bled after the pap, but also after sex... after sex I had clots and it was a lot of blood, but they said it was all normal and everything was fine. I was worried about the clots but they said that clots form and stay in your vagina and when the bleeding starts it pushes them out... I hope all is fine, I've never heard of a pap smear inducing a miscarriage, just some scares of bleeidng that they are supposed to warn you about.

 

[Ashley8806]

And they know what the abnormalities are with the results that would show up for pregnancy - usually just increased inflammatory cells. I think it's imiportant to make sure I'm not passing on any infection that could harm my baby, but that's just me.