Pregnancy & Dysplasia Advice...

• By simplynat
• Posted October 14, 2009 at 10:23 am
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I can only speak from my own experience but it is not recommended to become pregnant when there is cervical dysplasia. Pregnancy is very taxing to the body and the best gift you can give your child, yourself and your partner is to ensure you are in the best health possible before becoming pregnant.
The immune system is lowered during pregnancy and this lowered immune system creates an environment in which HPV can become active. If there is already dysplasia, the imune system is less likely to be able to clear the active infection and the dysplasia so it is possible for this dysplasia to progress - possibly even into cancer. It is fairly common for women to develop dysplasia during their pregnancy as it has caused the virus to become active but usually post pregnancy the body will fight it off however if the dysplasia already exists prior to becoming pregnant it is possible that this dysplasia can progress so it isn't advisable to become pregnant until this has been taken care of. Usually if a LEEP or cone provides clear margins the doctor will give you the go ahead once you are fully healed from the surgery (sometimes after your next clean follow up pap) however if the margins are not clear they may advise that you have two clean follow ups prior to TTC. Best wishes.

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• By simplynat
• Posted October 14, 2009 at 10:25 am
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I just wanted to add, that I don't mean to say that pregnancy when combined with existing cervical dysplasia will always progress into cancer but rather that it can create an environment where this is a possibility.

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• By corellin
• Posted October 14, 2009 at 12:46 pm
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Hi Gemysyn -- I'm really sorry to hear you're going through this stressful time.... It's very exciting that you and your boyfriend are thinking of getting pregnant. If you're not already, though, I would urge you to take care of the dysplasia first and make sure you're fully healed before getting pregnant. Has the doctor recommended any treatment for the dysplasia? And, I'm so sorry that you have these financial concerns to deal with as well because I know how stressful that is.

One good thing (since I know you're looking for good news), is that sometimes a biopsy will trigger an immune response and cause the body to clear dysplasia/HPV on its own.

Are you aware of things you can do to give your body a better chance of clearing the HPV? -- It's just all the common sense things -- don't smoke, get plenty of rest, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables -- especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and leafy greens -- moderate exercise. There's some research that using sanitary napkins instead of tampons and using a condom for about 6 months might help speed the clearance of HPV.

Pregnancy will put stress on the body as well as impact hormones in a way that might worsen the HPV situation -- so, if at all possible (if you're not already pregnant), it's best to wait until the active HPV infection is gone.

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• By flowershoplady
• Posted October 14, 2009 at 12:51 pm
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ditto and ditto to what simplynat and corellin posted!

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• By sapphkat
• Posted October 15, 2009 at 10:28 pm
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First of all, you may get more responses if you change your post's privacy options to "share with members" rather than "share with the public".

In response to your question, I have AIS, so my situation is somewhat different. But when I asked if I could just try and get pregnant now (this was over a year ago) my doctor frowned and said no. It is not a good idea because dysplasia thrives in a pregnant body. You do not want to make your dysplasia worse.

Also your worry about how you will pay for this. There are other posts related to this, so you may want to search this topic. Also Flowershoplady seems to be knowledgeable on how to get aid in different parts of the states. Please don't just ignore this diagnosis because you are not sure how you will pay for this.

Take care!

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• By Gemysyn
• Posted October 17, 2009 at 9:04 pm
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alright...wow...i almost feel more stressed, but it's stuff i need to know

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