When was the last time you had a pap smear?

[AngelPunks]

Since I had a CIN3 result (and subsequent surgery) I was on a 6 monthly cycle of pap smears, now I'm down for a new trial of testing, if I'm clear on my pap in June, then I'm back to 2 yearly paps.

[paradise lost]

I last had one in August 2006, but i'm in the UK where we have smears every 3 years, not every 2. I've never missed one.

[*charmalea*]

i was due for one when ds was born and never got around to it .. now i am pg again i have no idea when i will have the next one ... prob after this one is born

[*las*]

I'm still on 6 monthly for another year, then on yearly for a while - I'd rather have them this often than go through what I did a few years ago...

[sneakysparkle]

Just a quick q, is there any reason not to have one while you are pregnant or breastfeeding? By some of the comments it seems there is???

[Amity]

I had mine two weeks ago LOL

[rurumummy]

I had my last one when i first fell pregnant with this bubs and i didnt know yet,
The results came back inconclusive and i had to repeat the test but then i found out im pregnant so my gp said i would have to wait till i give birth..im not sure if the reason they were inconlusive was because i was pregnant??

[fionas]

There is no reason you can't have a pap smear when pregnant - it's just that GPs are nervous about doing them.

I hadn't had a pap smear for about six years and my GP refused to do one saying it could harm the baby. I also asked if there was any treatment they could do if the result came back abnormal and she again said no so I thought "well what's the point in getting a test done, running the risk of an abnormal result and then freaking out for the rest of the pregnancy but not being able to do anything about it."

Anyhow, this is all got resolved when I went to see my lovely ob/gyn.

He set me straight, said there was no risk to the baby and said, "well, we might as well do one today then Fiona, what d'you reckon?" In addition, he said there were lots of things that could be done to manage cervical cancer/other abnormalities whilst pregnant.

So all over in 5 mins. Results normal which meant I could relax for the rest of my pregnancy.

So if you're pregnant, I recommend seeing an ob/gyn rather than a GP because they are less likely to be nervous which means you're less likely to be worried about the procedure too.