Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[Alisa F]

Hopeful - oh crap, my posts should all come with a warning. I've had real bad luck in both pregnancies so I'm on edge with everything and usually overreact and worry about things I shouldn't worry about. Please don't be freaked out about what I said. I tried to repeat throughout above note that you should only be concerned if you have symptoms. I would never have asked for urine culture if my kidneys werent hurting so much. Peeing a lot in preg is normal, lady!

Lindy - I can't get a straight answer from the docs about GBS and open cervix so if u do let us know.

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

Lol thanks. And no i am the same. worry worry worry! Lol x

 

[chistiana]

Hopeful- you re doing a good job lifting him as little as possible. When you do have to lift him try doing it using just your feet (putting all strength there rather than on your hands or back) it might be worth asking your doc or a midwife to show you the best possible way to lift him. Xx

 

[Mumzie3]

Hey I have been fine I had my stitch in place since July 3rd.....tomorrow I have my detailed ultrasound and then my appointment with obgyn....hoping and praying for the best.
I hope everyone here is doing well **hugz not kissez**

 

[bluestarlight]

yea, i know I shouldn't lift her. she goes to daycare while my husband works but when she is home and he has to do something like shop or prep dinner I end up picking her up. She crawls with lightning speed and prefers it for now to walking although she has done that too a bit. Although she has been doing "knee walking" a lot when she has stuff in her hands. Its mostly in and out of the crib or playpen I lift her. Usually when we are by ourselves I have her on the bed with me so she can crawl up to me. Hubby does all her bathing and up and down stair carrying and such. But your right, I just missed her so much that I just lift her up. she's about 22-23lbs now I think. Its been super hot here today so the weather has been making my feet swell up now. I usually love the heat but I guess it doesn't like preggers me.

As for the GBS, my sister had that with all 3 pregnancies of hers, with her last she did end up with it in her urine a few times and had to have antibiotics. During labor with her last one it was so quick they weren't able to get all the antibiotics in her ontime so they had to do some extra testing on him to make sure he wasn't exposed during birth. He turned out to be fine though.

 

[LindyB]

Good luck with your appointment today Mumzie3! And Bluestarlight you are almost 30 weeks! Thats brilliant!

 

[lizziedripping]

Hey ladies, just to clarify as Alisa said so well - gbs is only an issue to baby during labour and can be passed on during their journey down the birth canal. It isn't known to be a cause of prom or ptl, and certainly if the cervix is closed it definately cannot make its way into the uterus. By closed I mean closed completely or below the stitch. Even if you are funneled to the stitch, having closed cervix remaining below is good enough.

The nature of gbs as an infection means that it is unlikely to track into your uterus anyway, open or closed. Hope that helps xxx

 

[JJEE]

Hi Ladies,

I hope everybody is well?

Lizzie, I am just wondering once labour begins for us ladies with weak/incompetent cervix' Does this mean that we dilate quicker? Making the whole labour quicker?? Wishful thinking really..but with my son who was term I had a 13hr labour, but my daughter arrived very quickly..the first twinge of a contraction to delivering her took 3hrs!! Should I be preparing for another quick labour, or just the fact she was so small made it quick??
Hope you had a fab holiday.

xx

 

[lizziedripping]

Hey JjE, your daughters speedy delivery was probably due to her size and because it was your second labour. There are some IC ladies whose cervixes open rapidly from funneled to 10cms once they go into active labour, but usually they don't and in fact sometimes the scar tissue from a stitch can make their cervix extremely stubborn and slow to progress - oh the irony lol.

Hard to tell which you'll be Hun, but after two previous deliveries, labour is unlikely to be long and drawn out this time, but then every pregnancy is different even in the same lady xx

 

[LindyB]

Both my labours were very long! My first my waters broke at 33 weeks and Leo was born just on 34 weeks. It took over 12 hours, maybe more. It took ages for my cervix to dilate. With my second, Arthur, (which I had a stitch in at 16 weeks) my waters broke the day before planned stitch removal. I had contractions. Stitch was removed but labour still took over 12 hours again!! I think I have what Lizzie described as extra tension in the cervix from scar tissue. I'm hoping so as it may give extra strength now at 23 weeks. fingers crossed!

ALso then I got really bad mastitis just to top it off! The midwife says' try a cabbage leaf' and I just wanted to throw the whole bloody cabbage at her! I went to see my GP with a temp of 40 degrees and boobs feeling like they might explode. She gave me antibiotics but said the best thing for mastitis is to catty on breastfeeding every two hours. It's like there is no end to it!!

Like you I'm on my third and am not expecting anything less that 12 hours! But as your second was so quick this one probably will too!

 

[ChovieGirl]

So I went to the doctor today and cervix length was 3.2cm. I am also feeling a little better since I am pushing towards the 24 week marker. Yay!

They gave me a steroid shot in the bum (ouch!) and also prescribed me Nexium for this horrible heartburn. I have to do another ffn test and a glucose test when I go back in 2 weeks. So many tests and such, but I am glad that they are taking all sorts of precautions.

Has anyone experienced having a steroid shot? Apparently this is to help the baby's lung development. Also, anyone taken Nexium while pregnant? I have read other women taking it and that it was safe, but I just hate having to take a pill every day. Although, not being able to eat or drink much is probably worse and this heartburn makes it hard to do either.

Hugs to all!

 

[Natalie_3]

ChovieGirl,
Wow, 3.2cm and pushing 24 weeks is definitely something to be proud of! I'm 22 weeks and can't wait till I can get past 24 weeks.
Sorry to hear about the horrible heartburn. Fortunately for me, I haven't experienced that.
Even though it's a literal pain in the butt, I would suffer through a steroid shot if the dr. wanted to give me one. Good for you.
You're doing great!

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi Chovie, great news about your cervix . Steroid shots are given routinely if there is a risk of delivering before 34wks and are brilliant. They help to speed up lung maturity in the hours before delivery and since they started being used have cut the incidence and/or severity of lung disease in preemies drastically. We were able to get two shots 24hrs apart before Evie was delivered at 24wks and it made a huge difference to her survival and general health.

Usually their effects wear off within a week, so if your baby isn't born in that time they have to be repeated. Many docs (inc mine) won't give them unless there is an imminent threat of delivery, so I never got them with the twins. Some docs (like yours) give them throughout pregnancy as a precaution if there is even a slight risk of preterm delivery. Theyre proabably planning on checking ffn results before giving them again, just to rule out a need for steroids unless they're absolutely necessary.

Nexium is one of the very few PPIs licensed for use in small children and babies hun, so it is extremely safe - it takes yrs of testing and a proven track record for such a license. It's the best you can have for hb and will certainly do the trick

 

[LindyB]

I wouldn't have noticed this if I was getting on with my life as normal but one of my veins on my left leg looks a bit funny. Lizzie what do people do if they are on bed rest/modified bed rest in pregnancy to avoid varicose veins? Are we more at risk? I've just read its pretty common in pregnancy anyway and usually disappears after. I see my consultant in 1 weeks time and midwife in 10 days so I'll tell them too. My sister in law had them really bad and she was very active throughout her pregnancy. She had to have an operation afterwards. I'm quite queasy about veins!

 

[DMJ]

Hi ladies ..

Just wanted to ask two questions if you don't mind ...

Firstly - since I have had the stitch in I haven't had any checks / swabs to see if there is any infection (I don't have any reason to be checked) but just wondered if they routinely done these in case of anything? All I have at the moment is just the usual urine check. Hope that makes sense

And secondly - when did everyone start getting there nursery ready for little one? We have everything already as we're going to re-use what we already had, in some ways I think let's start now as I'm 25 weeks now and so far things have been going well but in other ways is it too soon?

Xx

 

[LaRockera]

ChovieGirl- I was given steroid shots when I was 34 weeks along, due to my amniotic fluid being on the lowest side of normal. I was told to refrain from salt and sugar for a couple of weeks. Why are they giving you them though? Your cervical length is well within normal range.

LindyB- I wasn't on bedrest, although I did put my feet up with every chance, but was on aspirin 60mg due to increased coagulation. Not sure I know of any natural blood thinners, but in any case make sure you consult your doc before taking anything.

DMJ- My experience with the NHS is that they will refuse to do any swabs unless you suspect infection. They don't want anything up there that may cause infection (thus rendering them reliable).Truth be told, there's no need to have any swabs taken unless you have symptoms. Make sure you drink plenty of water, maintain good hygiene, and you can eat yogurt and drink that hideous pure cranberry juice you get in health stores. As for the nursery, I was too scared to buy anything before I reached the third trimester. I did go for a mothercare baby plan nursery furniture around 20 weeks though, as I bought a wardrobe, bed and changer/set of drawers for
£500 from £1000. I only had to give £30 to secure them though and could cancel it any time. I had to browse and shop like crazy once I reached seven months though.

 

[Alisa F]

DMJ - I'm on NHS and the only routine checks i'm having was the one to check the stitch 10 days after it was placed and then in another 4 weeks after that and maybe once more they said but after that theyre gonna leave it, they dont want to interfere too much down there.

On NHS there are no routine swabs or checks that i know of. It depends on your doc if they are cautious or not, they are usually not. They will do swab if you have symptoms (smelly off colour discharge, pains, contractions or cramps, bleeding) and they will do urine culture if you have symptoms only (frequent urination, burning when peeing, back /flank pain).

I've got loads of other issues going on, apart from the stitch, so we're not getting a nursery set up until after baby is born. At 24 weeks I will buy the basics that need washing and cant be bought on the day when baby is born (bedding, muslins, sleep suits, pads and stuff for me, pack hospital bag) but the rest like car seat and pram we will wait until bubs is ok and then DH will just go to Mothercare and pick something up quickly when we need to go home.

 

[LindyB]

I've been a little strange in this pregnancy as I've not spent too much time thinking about the baby - if that makes sense. Because my cervix length had remained the same for a couple of readings and my consultant said not too worry I did start to think about names etc. The day before my 20 week scan I came up with my list of name and allowed myself to get excited. The next day in the scan we had the bad news about funnelling and reduced cervix length. I change the subject when people try to talk to me about the sex or names etc. I think I'm just too scared!

Anyway only 7 days til my cervical scan.

This baby feels a lot lower than my two boys. It kicks really low - I can't remember Leo and Arthur kicking this low but then again I wasn't so terrified in those pregnancies. Does anyone know when the baby should move further up?

 

[ChovieGirl]

Hi ladies ..

Just wanted to ask two questions if you don't mind ...

Firstly - since I have had the stitch in I haven't had any checks / swabs to see if there is any infection (I don't have any reason to be checked) but just wondered if they routinely done these in case of anything? All I have at the moment is just the usual urine check. Hope that makes sense

And secondly - when did everyone start getting there nursery ready for little one? We have everything already as we're going to re-use what we already had, in some ways I think let's start now as I'm 25 weeks now and so far things have been going well but in other ways is it too soon?

Xx

DMJ-
My doctors routinely ask me if I am having any abnormal discharge or bleeding, but I don't think that my doctor's have really been concerned to check for infection either; however, I have mentioned being worried about this and they checked just to give me peace of mind. Maybe your doc will do the same.

As far as decorating and buying stuff... We have not done anything yet. I have a few onesies and blankets that were given to me, but other than that nothing. I went ahead and started a registry to give me an idea of what we will need. So much stuff! I don't think we will make any big purchases until at least 30 weeks. I sooo want to buy stuff now, but I am still too cautious to. I do know a lot of people who start buying things now or even earlier. Just do what you feel comfortable doing.

 

[ChovieGirl]

LaRockera-
I guess I was just given them as a preventative measure. It seems like my doctor really seems to want to take every precaution possible since my cervix seems to fluctuate and is funneling some.