Are you pregnant and interested in LASIK? Pregnancy and undergoing LASIK can both be incredible, life-changing events.
While you may be eager to finally experience the visual freedom that LASIK offers, you may also be wondering if it’s safe or not to have LASIK while expecting. Keep reading to learn more about whether you can get LASIK if you’re pregnant.
What is LASIK and How Does It Work?
LASIK is a laser eye surgery that corrects refractive errors, including astigmatism, nearsightedness, and farsightedness. To see clearly, the cornea, or clear structure at the front of your eye, should refract or bend incoming light accurately so it focuses precisely on your retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of your eye.
With refractive errors, your eye shape prevents light from refracting properly and landing on your retina as it should, causing blurry vision. LASIK alters the shape of your cornea to improve how light bends and focuses on your retina, fixing your refractive errors.
What Happens During LASIK?
Your LASIK surgeon will administer numbing eye drops to prevent pain during the procedure. You may also be given a mild sedative to help you feel at ease.
Using a femtosecond laser, your LASIK surgeon will create a thin flap on the cornea and lift and fold it back to reach the underlying corneal tissue. They’ll then reshape this part of your cornea using an excimer laser programmed with your exact prescription.
Once done, they place the flap back into position, where it will begin to reattach itself without needing stitches. Your LASIK surgeon may prescribe antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops to prevent infection and inflammation.
Post-LASIK, patients notice a dramatic improvement in vision, with most not needing glasses or contact lenses at all.
Can You Get LASIK When Pregnant?
To get LASIK, you must meet specific criteria. One of the requirements is that you should not be pregnant, and here’s why:
Hormonal Changes
Your body undergoes hormonal changes to support your growing baby. While these changes are natural and essential, they can change the thickness and shape of your cornea, altering your vision.
Fluctuations in your vision can make it challenging to determine your exact prescription and lead to suboptimal outcomes. If your prescription is unstable, usually for a year or more, you won’t be a LASIK candidate.
An unstable prescription means that you’ll need to hold off on LASIK until your eyes stop changing. These changes often resolve within several months after your baby’s birth.
Fluid Retention
Fluid retention can also affect your LASIK candidacy. Most pregnant women experience fluid retention, which might cause corneal edema.
LASIK corrects your refractive error by changing the curvature and thickness of your cornea. Corneal edema alters the curvature of your cornea, making it hard to determine an accurate prescription for LASIK, which is crucial for the procedure’s success.
If you undergo LASIK while pregnant, you may not achieve your desired vision correction, as your eyes might still change once corneal edema resolves post-pregnancy.
Medication Concerns
Some of the medications used during and post-LASIK, including anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops, have not been thoroughly tested for use by pregnant women. There’s a possible risk that these medications may not be safe for your unborn baby, making it best to wait until after pregnancy.
Is LASIK Safe While Nursing?
Breastfeeding is also a contraindication for LASIK. Nursing hormones may cause vision fluctuations that can affect your LASIK candidacy.
For this reason, surgeons recommend delaying the procedure until after you’re done nursing to ensure more precise eye measurements and more predictable outcomes. If you’re pregnant, you may need to wait a little while before having LASIK, but a future with clear, unaided vision makes the procedure worth the wait.
Then, you can enjoy making memories with your child in high definition for decades to come. Do you want to learn more about LASIK and discover whether you’re a good candidate for the procedure?
Schedule a LASIK consultation at VisionFirst Eye Center in Birmingham, AL, today!
