Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Surveillance in pregnancy and while breastfeeding | CION Cancer Clinics
Pregnancy and breastfeeding do not switch off your surveillance plan. Some tests, particularly breast MRI, are usually paused and resumed afterwards, while others continue with small adjustments. This page explains what changes, what does not, and how to plan the calendar with your obstetric and oncology teams together. At CION Cancer Clinics, our team helps carriers and their families plan checks, next steps and support after a genetic result.
NG
Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
17+specialists on panel
15,000+patients treated
35+centres across Telangana & AP
4.8★ / 800+Google rating
On this page
- Can screening continue if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?
- What changes for each kind of scan
- Fitting a pregnancy around a screening calendar
- Words you may hear at this appointment
- Pregnant now, compared with your usual schedule
- What this page cannot tell you
- What families assume about pregnancy and screening
- Common questions about surveillance in pregnancy
The short answer
Can screening continue if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?
Yes, in almost every case. Pregnancy and breastfeeding change which test is used and when, but they do not mean screening stops. A carrier who is expecting or feeding a baby is not left unwatched for the best part of a year.
Why the calendar has to move
Some tests use a dye, some use radiation, and some are simply harder to read once the breast tissue has changed for feeding. None of that means the organ goes unchecked. It means your oncology team swaps one tool for another, or shifts the date, rather than skipping the visit.
Who should be told, and when
Tell your obstetrician you carry a gene fault as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed, and tell your genetics or oncology team that you are expecting. The two teams plan together, ideally before your next surveillance appointment falls due. Waiting until a scan is due to mention it is the most common reason a visit gets rearranged twice instead of once, which is avoidable with an early phone call.
A normal pregnancy scan is not the same as your cancer surveillance. One does not replace the other.Test by test
What changes for each kind of scan
Every test on a surveillance schedule behaves differently in pregnancy. Here is what usually happens to each one.
Breast MRI
Usually paused during pregnancy itself. The contrast dye used for breast MRI is generally avoided while a baby is developing, so this test is the one most often delayed until after delivery.
Mammogram and ultrasound
Ultrasound is unaffected by pregnancy and is often used more while MRI is on hold. A mammogram can usually still be done with the abdomen shielded, though breast changes in pregnancy can make the images harder to read.
Colonoscopy and endoscopy
Not usually done while pregnant unless there is a specific reason, because of the sedation and positioning involved. A due scope is rescheduled for after delivery rather than skipped altogether.
Breastfeeding, specifically
Feeding does not rule out screening, but it does change what a scan looks like. Tell the radiologist you are feeding so the images are read against the right baseline, and ask whether a feed just before the appointment would help.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistPlanning ahead
Fitting a pregnancy around a screening calendar
Before you conceive
If a scan is close to due, ask whether it makes sense to bring it forward first. This is a conversation, not a rule, and many carriers conceive without rearranging anything.
Through the pregnancy
Your obstetric team leads. Anything paused, such as breast MRI, is simply resumed on the usual clock once the pregnancy is over, not restarted from the beginning.
Straight after delivery
Ask when the paused test can restart. It is often sooner than families expect, and does not need to wait until feeding has fully stopped.
Once feeding has settled
Breast tissue that changed for feeding needs time to return to a baseline the radiologist can compare against. Your team will tell you when your images are reliable again.
On your notes
Words you may hear at this appointment
- Contrast agent
- The dye injected for a breast MRI. It is the reason this particular scan is usually the one delayed in pregnancy.
- Shielding
- A lead apron placed over the abdomen during an X-ray based test, to keep the radiation away from the baby.
- Lactational changes
- The normal thickening and increased fluid in breast tissue during feeding, which can make scans harder to read but is not itself a finding.
- Baseline
- The set of earlier images a radiologist compares a new scan against. Pregnancy and feeding can shift this, which is why timing matters.
- Multidisciplinary planning
- Your obstetrician, oncologist and genetic counsellor agreeing a schedule together, rather than each booking appointments alone.
Side by side
Pregnant now, compared with your usual schedule
Not pregnant or feeding
Pregnant or breastfeeding
Breast MRI on the usual clock
Usually paused, resumed after delivery
Mammogram as scheduled
Often still possible, with shielding
Ultrasound as needed
Unchanged, used more while MRI waits
Colonoscopy or endoscopy as due
Rescheduled unless clinically urgent
Booked around your own convenience
Booked jointly with your obstetric team
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether it is safe for you personally to delay a particular scan, or by how long. That depends on which gene is involved, which organ the paused test was watching, and how far along the pregnancy already is. Only your oncologist, working with your obstetrician, can weigh that for your case.
Who this page does not apply to
If you are not yet pregnant and have no plan to conceive soon, none of this changes your current schedule. This page is written for the window around pregnancy and feeding, not for everyday surveillance.
What to do instead
Bring your surveillance calendar to your first antenatal visit and ask your genetic counsellor to speak with your obstetrician directly. A joint plan written down early, covering every test you would otherwise be due for during the pregnancy, avoids appointments being cancelled and rebooked more than once.
If you are not sure who should be told first, call the helpline and describe your situation. Someone will point you to the right team.Commonly believed
What families assume about pregnancy and screening
"Pregnancy means all my screening has to stop."
Most of it continues. Ultrasound is unaffected, and a mammogram can usually still be done with shielding. Breast MRI is the test most often paused, and only for the pregnancy itself.
"My routine pregnancy scans cover my cancer risk too."
They do not. An antenatal ultrasound looks at the baby, not at the organs your surveillance plan is watching. The two are separate appointments with separate purposes.
"Breastfeeding means I cannot be scanned at all."
Feeding changes what the images show, not whether they can be taken. Telling the radiologist you are feeding lets them read the scan correctly rather than cancel it.
"If a scan is delayed, I have missed my chance."
A test paused for pregnancy is resumed on the same clock afterwards, not abandoned. Delaying by the length of a pregnancy and a feeding period is a planned pause, not a gap left open.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about surveillance in pregnancy
Is it safe to get pregnant while I am on a surveillance plan?
For most carriers, yes. Pregnancy itself does not usually change your underlying risk in a way that rules out conceiving. The main thing to plan for is the screening calendar around the pregnancy, not whether to become pregnant at all.
Will my baby be affected by the gene fault I carry?
That is a separate question about inheritance, not about screening, and it is best discussed with a genetic counsellor before or during pregnancy. It is not something this page, or any scan, can answer.
Can I have a mammogram while pregnant?
Often yes, with the abdomen shielded. Whether it is worthwhile depends on how easy your breast tissue is to read at that stage, which your radiologist will judge on the day.
How soon after delivery can breast MRI restart?
Often sooner than families expect, but it depends on whether you are breastfeeding and how your team wants your baseline to settle first. Ask at your postnatal check rather than guessing.
Do I need to stop breastfeeding to be screened?
Not usually. Most scans can be arranged around feeding, sometimes timed just after a feed. Stopping outright is rarely required purely for a screening test.
What if a lump is found while I am pregnant?
It is assessed the same way it would be otherwise, with tests chosen to be safe in pregnancy. Being pregnant does not mean a finding is left uninvestigated.
Should I tell my obstetrician about my gene result?
Yes, as early as possible. It changes which tests are offered and when, and lets your obstetric and oncology teams plan together instead of separately.
Who do I call to plan this properly?
Your genetic counsellor or the oncology team running your surveillance. If you are not sure which, call the CION helpline and describe where you are in the pregnancy.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Want a specific doctor for your case? Mention them when booking.
Book Free ConsultationBook an appointment with our specialist
Share your name and number — we'll call you back within 30 minutes to schedule your consultation.
Patient stories
Hear it from people we have treated
Every story is a video, in the patient's own words. Nothing here is a written testimonial.
Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- Cancer Research UK — Screening for people with a high risk of breast cancer
- NHS — Pregnancy and breast screening
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What does it mean to have a genetic predisposition to a disease?
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Breast MRI screening: what it involvesThe test most often paused for pregnancyKeeping track of a multi-organ screening scheduleFitting one more change into an already busy calendarWhat happens when surveillance finds somethingWhat comes next if a paused scan turns up a findingWhat a genetic counsellor doesWho to loop in alongside your obstetrician
Talk to us
Expecting, and not sure what to do about your screening?
Tell us which test is due and how far along you are. We will help you and your obstetric team plan a schedule that works for both. One helpline serves every CION centre.