Smear Tests After Birth Trauma
Getting a reminder letter to book your smear test can be an anxiety inducing moment, especially if you’ve experienced a stressful or traumatic birth. A third of people who responded to one of my polls recently said they were more nervous about their smear since giving birth. And there are many reasons why you might be feeling anxious about a smear test, from embarrassment, feeling out of control, being reminded of your birth or because you have a birth injury. It’s so easy to put off making the appointment, but we all know smear tests save lives. Your body and your health matter. So here’s some advice to help you feel more confident and ready to book your smear test.
If you think you might need a bit of extra time, ask for a double appointment, this way you won’t be worrying about feeling rushed.
Similarly if you think you might need a bit of time afterwards to ground yourself and relax build that time into your day, you might need to book extra childcare or time off work for example.
Tell your nurse or doctor about your worries, it might help to have a phone conversation before your appointment or ask the receptionist to make a note of how you’re feeling. When you arrive at your appointment share how you’re feeling and communicate what you need to help you feel safe and ready, if you think you might forget what you want to say write it down.
Take a support person with you. Share any concerns or worries with them before hand and ask them to prompt you if you forget to mention how you’re feeling and what you need during the appointment. A support person who knows you well and can identify when you’re feeling uncomfortable/ or are moving into a fight/flight/freeze trauma response can be really helpful as sometimes a practitioner can miss this.
You can ask for the smallest speculum to be used and you can ask to insert it yourself.
You can choose to lie on your side if being on your back doesn’t feel comfortable.
Some people find wearing a dress/ skirt or long tunic can help them to feel less exposed.
Use grounding/ breathing/ mindfulness techniques to help you feel calm before and throughout the procedure.
Spend a bit of time visualising the appointment going really well and imagining how you will feel afterwards, if you find this helpful keep doing it in the lead up to your appointment.
Journal your worries and fears, sometimes getting your thoughts down on paper can make them less scary and you might also feel clearer on what you need in the appointment to feel comfortable.
I really hope these ideas help you to go ahead and book your appointment. If you’re still feeling stuck after reading this then don’t think it’s the end of the road. Contact your GP and ask them if there is anything else that can be done to support you or get in touch with me and book a Time to Talk session where we can explore what you need in more depth.
As always, let me know what works for you and if there’s anything else that’s a helpful tool.