CAN COLPOSCOPY BE PERFORMED DURING PREGNANCY?
There are no reasons why colposcopy cannot be performed during pregnancy and it is safe to take biopsies (though it may bleed more than normal). However unless the pregnancy is in its very early stages (less than 10 weeks) treatment is generally not performed due to the risk of heavy bleeding. If the condition is confirmed as being truly PRE-cancerous then the colposcopy can be repeated later in the pregnancy and/or 6-12 weeks after the baby is born. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COLPOSCOPY AND BIOPSY CONFIRM THE PRESENCE OF PRE-CANCEROUS CHANGE? The pathologist may confirm the presence of precancerous change in the biopsy. These changes are called CIN (Cervical Intra-epithelial Neoplasia) and, like the smear results, these are graded as mild (CIN 1), moderate (CIN 2) or severe (CIN 3). CIN 1 changes may revert to normal spontaneously in 1/3 to of cases and, therefore, women have the choice of either undergoing treatment or, alternatively, having the situation kept under colposcopic review by at
