Screening for Cervical Cancer in Pregnancy

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer related morbidity and mortality in low/low-middle income countries. Lack of screening is the leading cause of cases being diagnosed in advanced stages and screening is still opportunistic in a majority of these countries. Hospital visits during pregnancy provides a window of opportunity to screen these susceptible women and reduce the burden of disease. Screening women during pregnancy is not practiced widely due to concerns of pregnancy loss, bleeding and a lack of clear information among patients as well as healthcare professionals.