had laser surgery - cone biopsy 1 1/2 yrs ago

[elizabeth23]

will this affect my pregnancy?
my edd is july 13th. this is my first pregnancy and I am a little nervous about that surgery causing a problem. My doc says that I will be fine, but with our short visits.... I don't know if he just doesn't want to worry me.

[midwifetx]

I've done lots of births for women who had this procedure. It usually doesn't affect things one bit. Sometimes it makes labor faster because there is less cervix, sometimes it makes it a little longer because there is scar tissue that has to break up. Usually it makes no difference at all.

Don't be afraid to really talk it over with your doc. They are always in a hurry, but they are still your *employee* You pay them for their time and service, and they owe you their time and service, which includes covering all of your questions to your satisfaction.

[elizabeth23]

wow - thanks for the reply. I feel alot better getting advice from an experienced midwife!! hopefully the labor will go faster!! my doctor did say I healed well....

overall my babies health is most important - so I'll undergo whatever I have to - to help that happen. I'll definitely talk more with my doctor about my concerns and not worry about taking up his time. thanks.

[KJ]

I had the same thing done. Labor was pretty difficult for me. I was one of the ones who had to wait for the scar tissue to break up before I dilated. I was also induced. We ran into the problem that I was in so much pain, but I wasn't dilated at all. Finally, my doc said I could have an epidural and he would manually dilate me. Right when I was ready to have the epidural, I was dilated to 10 and ready to push-WITH NO PAIN MEDS OR EPIDURAL! Talk about scary! I went from a 0 to a 10 in one contraction all due to the scar tissue! It was not pleasant. Altogether I was in labor for 13 hours-third pregnancy. So, don't go into labor thinking it will be a shorter labor. It may not be the case. I hope for the best for you.

[jenny5171]

I also had scar tissue from this procedure which prevented me from dilating when I was in labor with DD. The dr. had to manually "break-up" the scar tissue - he did this twice, and the first time was before I had my epidural. OUCH! If you have trouble dilating, I highly recommend pain meds before letting the dr. do this to you. It worked though - He got me from 0 to 3 cm the first time, and then from 4 to 7 cm the second time. I went to 10 on my own after that.

And you don't really have to worry about the scar tissue coming back. This time with DS, I went from 0 to 10 all by myself.

Hope you have a fast, easy delivery - Good luck!

[elizabeth23]

I am afraid to ask....

what is the meaning of "manually dialating?"

[mamaG21]

I am afraid to find out what manually dialating is too! It sounds horrible. I am pregnant with my third child and had a portion of my cervix removed in July '02 I am due on July 20, 2003. My first two labors were a breeze but hearing what these ladies have to say has me very worried now. Not to mention my doctor might put in a stitch next time if my cervix measures too short. I have been having extreme pressure and I am only 14 weeks. Is this a normal procedure after having a cone biopsy and then becoming pregnant? I was wondering if any of you who had the biopsy also had to have stitches.


married: 6-30-00

joshua-8-21-99
jacob-10-2-00

[KJ]

I did not have to have a cerclage put in. My doc did weekly u/s and manual exams to feel if there was a change or shortening of my cervix. It did get short, but not too short to do anything about. He kept a good eye on me.

[jenny5171]

"Manually dilate" means that the dr. uses his hands or some other instrument (a long thin metal rod in my case) to pry open the cervix. I'm not trying to scare anybody - just being honest. It's as painful as it sounds, unless you have an epidural or some other great pain medication beforehand.

I didn't have to have a cerclage or anything else, since the scar tissue from the cone biopsy had actually made my cervix stronger. There was no way I was going to dilate without help.

[BellesMommy]

I don't want to try to scare you with my post but I am going to tell you my personal experience;
I also had a biopsy done on my cervix 7 months before I became PG w/DD. I asked my OB/GYN after my procedure if it would cause me any problems should I get pregnant. He gave me a very certain "NO".
At my first prenatal appt. I asked him again if having the biopsy was going to cause any problems 'cuz I was one of those bad girls who read ahead in "What to Expect" about all the things that could go wrong. Anyway, he dismissed my fears again and actually made me feel kind of silly for worrying.
At 18 weeks I had to have an emergency cerclage placed in my cervix to save my pregnancy. I had the cerclage placed with virtually NO cervix left and spent 6 weeks in the hospital on STRICT bed rest, off and on Magnesium Sulfate for pre-term labor and then I spent the rest of my pregnancy on bed rest at home.
Ironically, I was not able to deliver my DD vaginally. My water broke at 36 wks and after 35 hours of labor I never dilated past 5 cm due to all the scar tissue around my stitch and I had to have a C-Section.
I was VERY lucky my problem was caught in time to save my pregnancy. Sadly an incompetent cervix is usually not discovered until after one or more 2nd trimester losses.
I very naively and foolishly trusted my OB without question because HE was the doctor so he should know right?!?!
WRONG! I could have lost my DD!(((shuddering at the thought))) He should have been keeping a close eye on me from early on knowing that I was at some risk for an incompetent cervix, no matter how small he felt it was.
It was truly a fluke that it was discovered at all, as it was during a routine ultrasound that they saw my lack of cervix and it was almost too late to save!
My advice to you is that if you do not feel comfortable with how your Dr. is managing your care in ANY way, and you have worries, then you either need to get more aggressive and demand that he/she ease your fears with some closer monitoring or find someone who will.
Just because your Dr. made it through medical school doesn't mean he can predict the future. There is always some risk involved somewhere and if you have some knowledge about what MAY happen before the fact, than you have every right to follow up with that. It is YOUR body and YOUR precious cargo in there!!
I sincerely hope that none of what happened to me ever applies to you an you have a wonderful, healthy pregnancy and delivery, but I just felt that I had to respond to your post b/c I experienced one of those things that could happen and it was terrifying and I wish it on no one.

Good Luck to you!

P.S Good Grief....sorry for the book!! :o

[mamaG21]

I just wanted to say Thank You for the honest info. I have been reading on the internet and hearing what all of you have said at least I have a good idea of what could happen and have come up with some good questions for my doctor. I am happy to say that my doctor has been keeping a close eye on me, my baby, and my cervix but I wish he would have been a little more honest about the possibilities when he first found that I was pregnant again.
Thanks again!

[elizabeth23]

yes thank you for sharing your real life happenings. I'm glad that you and your baby are okay! I am going to start asking some serious straightforward questions now. I understand not wanting to stress out a new mother... but this is something we should all be concious of. Doctors should come forward with all the things that could happen, even if scary. We have a right to know what's happening with our own body!!!

best wishes to all of us who's going or gone through this.