RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Postpartum Papanicolaou Smear JF The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice JO J Am Board Fam Med FD American Board of Family Medicine SP 4 OP 9 DO 10.3122/jabfm.2.1.4 VO 2 IS 1 A1 Barry D. Weiss A1 Janet H. Senf A1 Wendy Udall YR 1989 UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/2/1/4.abstract AB This study was performed to evaluate the importance of obtaining postpartum Papanicolaou (Pap) smears routinely. Four hundred eighty-nine patients receiving pregnancy care had a normal prenatal Pap smear and a repeat Pap smear at their post-partum visit. Twenty-four (4.9 percent) had an abnormal postpartum Pap smear (95 percent confidence interval: 3.1–6.9 percent). Twenty-one (87.5 percent) of the abnormal smears showed squamous dysplasia; three (12.5 percent) showed squamous atypia. No specific risk factors were identified that predicted the occurrence of an abnormal post-partum Pap following a normal prenatal Pap except for age. Women more than 30 years of age were less likely to have an abnormal postpartum Pap smear (P = 0.008). The results of this study support the practice of performing Pap smears during prenatal care and again at postpartum examination, even when the prenatal Pap smear is normal. (J Am Bd Fam Pract 1989; 2:4-9.)