Cervical ectropian in pregnancy and colposcopy

[Strawbs92]

Just after some advice really.. I'm 17 weeks and had a bleed again so got checked out.

They said I have a larger than normal cervical ectropian so I need to be referred for a colposcopy under the 2 week wait.
Obviously I came in with one worry and I have left with a bigger worry.. especially that it's to check for cancer cells.

I did have a cry and she reassured me that it's most likely due to pregnancy hormones and nothing to worry about, but it's hard not to worry.

Has anyone had this done whilst pregnant? Is it painful? Was baby ok? Just feeling quite stressed 😞.

I was seen at clinic a couple weeks ago at about 18 weeks,
I was told I had ectropian years ago and never caused me any issue. They told me at the time it could be due to hormonal contraception.

When I was seen, they saw polyps on my cervix and I was seen at the colposcopy clinic a couple days later, it wasn't to check for cancer cells, my smears were all up to date it was just so they can get a better look with their equipment, rather than just a speculum.

I was worried they would be taking biopsies of the polyps but all they did was have a look to confirm it was them, and said they will monitor them throughout pregnancy.

Slightly uncomfortable but not awful, had a small amount of spotting for 1 day after. They said polyps can also be caused due to increased hormones in pregnancy.

I know its a little different to your situation but I would have appreciated this reassurance at the time when I was referred so hope this helps.

@Roses5678 thank you so so much for your post. I'm glad all went okay for you in the end.

Yeah it's just worried me, I had an ectropian over 12 years ago when I was on the pill. I've not been on contraception for 9 years or more now.

Hopefully it's to get a further look, they just said pregnancy hormones can cause the ectropian and they need a better look as it's bigger than normal. Hoping it's just the hormones but it's so scary.

Thanks again for your post 🩷.

I had a big bleed at 20 weeks, very scary but was due to my ectropian.

Nothing else was needed, it didn't cause any problems.

Try not to worry, hope all is ok for you.

I'm sure it will just be to have a clearer look as they have all the correct equipment in those clinics. Your hormones have increased massively when pregnant so the oestrogen increase could be the reason why, I'm not a doctor, but thinking about it rationally that makes sense.

I know what a worry it is though, all things were going through my mind when I was invited to be seen at the clinic a few days later but they were all so nice and reassuring. I was so concerned they were going to take biopsies of the polyps, as I worried it would be a risk to the pregnancy but they said no they won't do that whilst pregnant. They are the professionals at the end of the day and won't do anything if they believe that'll cause harm to your pregnancy :) please let me know how you get on.

Thank you @Roses5678 and @angeltattoo i really appreciate the responses.

I haven't heard anything yet, so it is just a waiting game. I am hoping they wont take a biopsy and perhaps they just need a clearer look with a microscope. They did say it is probably due to the pregnancy hormones but if they thought they see cancer, i guess they wouldn't tell me there or then either. They just said need to check further as it is larger than usual. I haven't had any bleeds since, it was just that one off.

I will let you know how i get on.