Pregnancy after LEEP Procedure
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Pregnancy after LEEP Procedure
March 2004
I will be having the LEEP Procedure and want to become pregnant
again. For people who have done this, are there a lot of risks
in pregnancy or any complications in the future? thank you for
your story, comments, advice.
anon
Hi. Good Luck with your LEEP procedure. I had this procedure
performed in 1996, then went on to have 2 children (one in 1999
and one last year) with zero problems. My OB/GYN did remark
that she noticed my cervix was missing it's tip, but it does
not, to my knowledge, cause cervical incompetence or anything
like that. I will say, though, that the LEEP procedure was
pretty uncomfortable and the subsequent bleeding was extensive
(6 weeks) and painful. Also I bled black, so don't be shocked.
But pregnancy and childbirth following this was a breeze.
Best of luck.
Christine
Hi, I had LEEP done in February 99. I had almost no bleeding
afterward and no pain at all. I saw a Dr at Walnut Creek Family
Planning on Oakland St, sorry that I can't remember his name,
he was wonderful. Two months later I was pregnant, a big
surprise. I had no problems, even delivered two weeks late! My
baby is a healthy 4 year old. I've since had two more children
and my cervix has held up just fine. Hope everything goes just
as smoothly for you!
R
Hi,
I would not worry. I had a much more invasive ''cone section'' done
2 years prior to my first pregnancy, and had no problem. I also
had the leep done 6 weeks after my child was born, and went on to
a completely unremarkable second pregnancy.
lj
I had a LEEP done in 1997 and got pregnant easily in 2000
(it was my first). I was more concerned about scar tissue on
my cervix not allowing me to dilate completely, because I
had heard of that as a possible issue. So I took evening
prrimose oil during the month before I was due, and had a
very easy 8 hour labor. My cervix went from 4cm to 10cm in
just an hour and a half and I had a wonderful natural birth.
So I had no trouble with either getting pregnant or delivery
(I'm also pregnant again with no trouble). I just thought I
would share my positive story. Also, I've yet to have another
negative pap smear.
Good Luck!
Brooke
First...sorry for the long response. LEEP procedure does have
its complications. I chose to wait. Key factors in the
decision for me were the stage of the abnormal cells, the amount
of the cervix that had been compromised by the abnormal cells
(i.e. how many quadrants are involved), and when I was planning
to TRY to get pregnant. I was found to have abnormal cells for
the first time 1 year ago. Because I had High Grade Ductal
Carcinoma in-situ 2 years ago and ended up with a mastectomy I
was in the high-risk category for other female cancers. I had
abnormal cells in 3 different quadrants of my cervix, but none
were cancerous yet. I decided to track the progress with serial
colposcopies because: the cells were pre-cancerous, of
the slow growing type (I was told by my OB), I was newly
married at 38, we wanted to start trying to have children right
away and I didnt want to wait the 4 months after the procedure
to start trying to get pregnant. I was also told that there is
no research out there that states pregnancy speeds the growth of
these types of cancers. So, I had serial colposcopies every 3
months (with biopsies on the first & 3rd) and started adhering
to Dr. Andrew Weils recommendations (Book: Spontaneous
Healing) for boosting my immune system through supplements and
diet. By 9 months after the initial diagnosis I was told that
there were no longer any abnormal cells! My immune system
kicked in and did the job and/or the biopsies removed all the
abnormal cells. You have some big choices here, because the
risks after the LEEP are possibly an incompetent cervix (one
that is unable to contain the growing fetus, and results in
miscarriage) albeit a low risk but still a significant risk.
Unfortunately, there is no way to diagnosis this prior to a
miscarriage. Other complications less grave are scarring to the
cervix. This only becomes a problem with vaginal deliveries, as
the section of the cervix that was subject to the hot wire tends
not to dilate at the same rate as the rest of the cervix. Labor
can be prolonged but scar massage during labor can help the
cervix along, but is painful. If you do have a LEEP and become
pregnant, be sure to tell all the staff that will be attending
you at your birth that this procedure was done and if you can
remember which areas of the cervix was/were involved
so you
dont get labeled as a failure to progress. Discuss all the
options with your OB. Why do I need this? What are the
consequences if I wait 3 months? What will happen if things
remain stable, I get pregnant and suddenly the cells look
worse? Do you know of any patients that have had this
procedure, gone on to get pregnant within the following year
that would be willing to talk with me about their experience? (I
say one year because healing can take up to 18 months to mature,
I don't know if there is increased risk to the cervix before
this time, but the longer out the more the scar tissue is
matured and can/not necessarily be problematic.) Best of Luck
with your decision.
Kelli Manring, PT, MSPT
(Physical Therapist specializing in women's health & Doula)
I had a LEEP procedure done in 1994 (for cervical dysplasia
resulting from HPV 14 years earlier), and an easy healthy full
term pregnancy/birth in 1999 at age 37. As another poster
noted, this procedure was VERY uncomfortable (I'd say painful),
which was not something the doc had prepared me for--and she
didn't use sufficient local anesthetic so had to kind of stop
and restart after another whatever-caine shot. I don't
remember the recovery being that bad. HOWEVER, by all accounts
the procedure itself is extremely effective--every exam since
then, they've pronounced my cervix ''beautiful'', and I haven't
had an abnormal pap smear since then.
Happy LEEP survivor
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