Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[LindyB]

Hi Ich. I stopped bleeding after my stitch was placed within one day too. I had no tinged discharge on day 2 as well.
However two weeks later I started to feel a scratching sensation inside. The next morning I found some slight brownish blood in my pants. I went to maternity traige and the doctor couldn't see where it had came from and there has been no more since. He did say that the ends of the stitches where long about 1 to and and a half inches long. I think this may have been what scratched me. I should have asked what material they where.
Maybe it was the end of the stitches you felt? I'm not sure but I know mine are quite long. xx

 

[lch28]

hey lindy. yes i think thats what it was.. id say it was about 1 - 2 inches below my cervix also. i just was not expecting that lol! thank god the bleed was nothing. its a terrible sight to see. i am already counting down to 24 weeks

 

[huskyowner]

Have been following this thread for a few weeks but didnt want to jinx myself too soon. Bear with me as this is likely to be a long intro so I can explain everything in one
After 4 years of TTC (PCOS) I got pregnant then below happened.

Nearly 4 years ago I had a late M/C at 19 weeks. For weeks I had been telling my M/W that something felt not right and I was told I was being a paranoid first timer, well obviously that wasnt so!!! At the time the docs just kept saying, what no pain. After it all happened it was hinted possible I/C but as only 1 loss it wasnt definite. So back to fertility treatment I went.

Which brings me up to now. After 3 1/2 more years whoop I am pregnant. Mix of IUI, clomid and waiting for IVF poof I catch naturally. Luckily for me the fertility dept in Swansea were great. My consultant demanded I was consultant led and had scans for C/L even though I only had 1 previous loss. Mainly because of how long it took to conceive and being 34 I wasnt good to be waiting another 4 years again if something happened.

Fortnightly scans began at 12 weeks where was found C/L 2.5 cm. By 16 weeks slight shortening and dip of a funnel. But placenta was low so waited while longer and had stitched placed eventually at 18+6. No blood loss no cramps slight pink discharge for 2 days. Unfortunately the shirodkar had to be placed low as length at vaginal side was small. Told next time placement to be done at 12 weeks. C/L then increased back to 2.5 cm post stitch. No funnelling. But by 23 weeks funnel back with vengeance to stitch. Now on SBR instead of modified since stitch. Was discussed admittance to hospital but no great benefit seen and easier to relax at home. Also at a push only 20 mins to the hospital if needed in emergency.

Had steroid injections yesterday and day before. Yes staring at the ceiling at 3am is so much fun but feeling like you want to run a marathon so not a great experience lol. Baby movement have decreased (I dont know if anyone else had this but asking Dr Google lol seems others have) Called MW who called round and heartbeat good and heard movement. He is a shy booger who avoids all probes dopplers etc that come towards him lol.

So here I am 25 weeks tomorrow (but I think my dates should be 26 due to growth and dates etc) on my lovely 30ml twice a day lactulose as have constant constipation (my bowel is stuck to my uterus great eh!!!) and fybogel just made things worse all bunged up and nowhere to go!!! But hey the up side is no had heart burn...........touch wood lol. Oh and did I mention the 2 kiwi fuit and prunes daily too lol. Hope your all beginning to get the picture lol. State of the house, umm dont ask lol. Thinking of things to do is getting tedious. Even facebook is not starting to float my boat lol. Not back to see the consultant now till 28 weeks. Hoping I get there anyway Due to constant bed rest, if I stand up more than 10 mins I can feel the stitch pinch also probably due to funnelling also.

So all thats left to say is hello ladies

 

[ChovieGirl]

Have been following this thread for a few weeks but didnt want to jinx myself too soon. Bear with me as this is likely to be a long intro so I can explain everything in one
After 4 years of TTC (PCOS) I got pregnant then below happened.

Nearly 4 years ago I had a late M/C at 19 weeks. For weeks I had been telling my M/W that something felt not right and I was told I was being a paranoid first timer, well obviously that wasnt so!!! At the time the docs just kept saying, what no pain. After it all happened it was hinted possible I/C but as only 1 loss it wasnt definite. So back to fertility treatment I went.

Which brings me up to now. After 3 1/2 more years whoop I am pregnant. Mix of IUI, clomid and waiting for IVF poof I catch naturally. Luckily for me the fertility dept in Swansea were great. My consultant demanded I was consultant led and had scans for C/L even though I only had 1 previous loss. Mainly because of how long it took to conceive and being 34 I wasnt good to be waiting another 4 years again if something happened.

Fortnightly scans began at 12 weeks where was found C/L 2.5 cm. By 16 weeks slight shortening and dip of a funnel. But placenta was low so waited while longer and had stitched placed eventually at 18+6. No blood loss no cramps slight pink discharge for 2 days. Unfortunately the shirodkar had to be placed low as length at vaginal side was small. Told next time placement to be done at 12 weeks. C/L then increased back to 2.5 cm post stitch. No funnelling. But by 23 weeks funnel back with vengeance to stitch. Now on SBR instead of modified since stitch. Was discussed admittance to hospital but no great benefit seen and easier to relax at home. Also at a push only 20 mins to the hospital if needed in emergency.

Had steroid injections yesterday and day before. Yes staring at the ceiling at 3am is so much fun but feeling like you want to run a marathon so not a great experience lol. Baby movement have decreased (I dont know if anyone else had this but asking Dr Google lol seems others have) Called MW who called round and heartbeat good and heard movement. He is a shy booger who avoids all probes dopplers etc that come towards him lol.

So here I am 25 weeks tomorrow (but I think my dates should be 26 due to growth and dates etc) on my lovely 30ml twice a day lactulose as have constant constipation (my bowel is stuck to my uterus great eh!!!) and fybogel just made things worse all bunged up and nowhere to go!!! But hey the up side is no had heart burn...........touch wood lol. Oh and did I mention the 2 kiwi fuit and prunes daily too lol. Hope your all beginning to get the picture lol. State of the house, umm dont ask lol. Thinking of things to do is getting tedious. Even facebook is not starting to float my boat lol. Not back to see the consultant now till 28 weeks. Hoping I get there anyway Due to constant bed rest, if I stand up more than 10 mins I can feel the stitch pinch also probably due to funnelling also.

So all thats left to say is hello ladies

It sounds like you are doing good now and taking it easy is the best thing to do. Welcome to the forum... I love this forum! It always makes me feel better.

Also, Yay! You have made it to 25 weeks. I stressed soooo much before then and after felt like I could breathe a little more; however, with complicated pregnancies, I think there is something we are always going to worry about.

 

[ChovieGirl]

Now that I am in heading way into the last trimester, is it normal to get lower back pain? I have read that lower back pain could be a sign of labor, but mine is not constant and I am not having contractions or other symptoms...other than hip discomfort too. It is not horrible bad, but pretty uncomfortable. I was not sure if this was just a pregnancy thing or if the bed rest is making it worse. I have heard that the 3rd trimester can get pretty uncomfortable.

 

[lch28]

chovie i think back pain is normal..

soo i called my dr about the strings. he was in L&D so i talked to the nurse. She yelled at me for putting my fingers up there =[ =[ and said yes they are supposed to be there. now im freaked out i messed something up or possibly risked an infection

 

[ChovieGirl]

chovie i think back pain is normal..

soo i called my dr about the strings. he was in L&D so i talked to the nurse. She yelled at me for putting my fingers up there =[ =[ and said yes they are supposed to be there. now im freaked out i messed something up or possibly risked an infection

You more than likely did not mess anything up. I have read from other woman who have done that before as well and did not have an issue. Just try to not to feel around there too much.

 

[lch28]

okayy thanks.. i mean i didnt even touch my cervix once i felt the strings i stopped.. and my hands were washed so i dont see how i could have gotten an infection. ugh.. nowww ill be worrying about this until i see my dr on thursday and he says it looks fine. ill be leaving the gross clumps in now

 

[huskyowner]

It sounds like you are doing good now and taking it easy is the best thing to do. Welcome to the forum... I love this forum! It always makes me feel better.

Also, Yay! You have made it to 25 weeks. I stressed soooo much before then and after felt like I could breathe a little more; however, with complicated pregnancies, I think there is something we are always going to worry about.

Thanks for the welcome Chovie. Yes can relax a little now, but will relax more when I get to 28 weeks. How I long for a normal pregnancy lol. It feels like one milestone after another lol.

 

[lch28]

huskyowner so sorry for your loss i lost my daughter at 23 weeks and i too kept telling my doctor's something wasn't right. i got the same response, ya know.. the whole "crazy pregnant lady" thing. its not fair =[ i wish we all had worry free pregnancies! you are 25 weeks and that is great!

 

[huskyowner]

huskyowner so sorry for your loss i lost my daughter at 23 weeks and i too kept telling my doctor's something wasn't right. i got the same response, ya know.. the whole "crazy pregnant lady" thing. its not fair =[ i wish we all had worry free pregnancies! you are 25 weeks and that is great!

Yes some docs etc just dont take you seriously with hearbreaking results Even occasionally now I need to explain things further if I dont speak to my regular doctors etc. They talk to you as if you have been beamed down from space lol

 

[lch28]

i know! and when i kept calling, telling them i felt pressure thought i was losing my mucus plug was feeling movements so low.. they acted as if i was being a pain in the *ss. let me tell you.. when they told me i was 4 cm dilated and it was too late for a cerclage (mind you this was after i sat in the waiting room for 2 hours when they knew i was bleeding) i let them hear it. i was so angry. maybe i took things out on them but to this day i will always wonder what could have been different. if they listened to me and gave me an internal exam like i asked for a whole week maybe my baby girl would be here. maybe if i didnt wait for two hours i could have saved the pregnancy.. okay end rant

 

[chistiana]

Ich dont worry about having touched the end of the stitch... When i was using progesterone vaginally i would always touch them and it never led to any trouble. Of course if you dont have to, stay away just as a precaution.

Huskyowner- welcome to the thread hun, i hope you have a very happy ending. The bed rest is forgotten within seconds of holding your baby!

 

[lch28]

thanks christiana.. yes it is hard to avoid touching it while using progesterone but i feel more calm now!

 

[Van1116]

Hello everyone! I've pretty much been lurking on this forum aside from one question I posted a several weeks ago. I love reading everyone's question and posts! So encouraging and helps me to know I'm not alone.

My first son was born at 24+5. This time around I had a cerclage placed at about 21 weeks and am on modified bed rest at home. I'm now almost 28 weeks and was told today I have gestational diabetes--very disappointing as I have none of the usual risk factors aside from age.

Anyway, I'm very concerned about this as I've read it can lead to delayed lung fetal lung development and I'm already at high risk for delivering early.

Anyone else with a cerclage have experience dealing with GD? Thanks!

Yes. I had a cerclage placed at about 14 weeks and had contractions that were changing my cervix so I was put on full bedrest. At I guess 28 weeks or so I failed the 1hr and 3hr GTT. I had to check my sugar 4 times daily and given a book on my new "diet". It had a lot of options so it wasn't that bad. I jumped over to the GD thread after that. My numbers have been fine since then so the Dr. took out my stitch at 36 weeks and told me I could stop the diet since baby was measuring good and my numbers stayed stable. I'm waiting until next week (Week 37 to stop nifedipine). I went straight to 2cm when stitched was removed which is why she left the nifedipine until 37 weeks just as a precaution.

Hope that helps. I'm on both this thread and GD so feel free to post any questions if you have any

 

[Tesharika]

Hello everyone! I've pretty much been lurking on this forum aside from one question I posted a several weeks ago. I love reading everyone's question and posts! So encouraging and helps me to know I'm not alone.

My first son was born at 24+5. This time around I had a cerclage placed at about 21 weeks and am on modified bed rest at home. I'm now almost 28 weeks and was told today I have gestational diabetes--very disappointing as I have none of the usual risk factors aside from age.

Anyway, I'm very concerned about this as I've read it can lead to delayed lung fetal lung development and I'm already at high risk for delivering early.

Anyone else with a cerclage have experience dealing with GD? Thanks!

Hi...Yes I had a cerclage put in at 13 weeks with my son Ryder and I found out at 23 weeks that I had GD...I tried to control with diet at first but had to go on insulin...

If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask

 

[LindyB]

Hello everyone - hope you are all well!

I'm starting to worry again today (what's new??). Anyway I was pleased for the last two weeks as my bump had moved higher and the movements I was feeling were higher. However, today and yesterday they are very low again. I can feel the baby kicking my cervix again. I'm worried that maybe this means I have funnelled again. I had a scan 3 weeks ago and saw that the stitch had resolved the funnelling and that the stitch was also high up- very near the top of my cervix.

At the moment I am skipping from one panic to the next! On Thursday I rang the hospital as I hadn't felt the baby move at the usual time. Obviously the baby kicked whilst I was talking to the midwife!

Anyone else have low kicks around 27 weeks? How did it affect the stitch/funnelling etc?

 

[chistiana]

Hi lindy! Dont worry hun, my girl was generally very quiet and she would go veeeery very quiet feom time to time. I went in l&d quiet a few times freaking out about low fetal movement! Of course if it will help you relax you should always contact them or go in. The kick count didnt work for me cause she could have hours of no kicking.
As for kicks down low i dont think it necessarily means anything about your cervix... dd kept kicking very low, i remember telling my doc that it felt as if a leg would just pop out but it was just her being in a footling position... Very uncomfortable indeed

 

[bluestarlight]

It's great that you're home and doing better. I totally understand about wanting to be done with it though... one minute, I feel like rushing into L&D, the next I feel like I might even make it to term. It's driving me nuts.

I got to L&D every week and I have 2 great doctors. The contractions I'm having aren't true contractions (not painful)... and they're not changing my cervix quickly enough to try to stop them. It's technically not PTL, but they are causing changes slowly.

They tell you to go in if you have more than 4 contractions in an hour, but I have 12/hr everynight for a few hours... and 2-3 per hour most of the rest of the time. They're just not doing much.

The good and bad news is that my uterus is going to be like ironman by the time i go into labor. Good news if she's ready, bad news is that if she's not, I don't think they'll have time to stop it.

They're also relying on the fetal fibronectin test. It's 95% true, so they just assume I won't go into labor in the next 2 weeks. I read that they baby's hormones are what start labor, so if she's not ready, nothing will happen unless she literally falls out cause my cervix is too weak.

I might ask my doc for the steroids next appointment.. I'd feel better. But I'm sure she'll say no if the tests are still negative. I'm almost to 34 weeks anyway. So close!

I also found out today that her weight is in the 13th percentile. She was 3 lbs 8 oz at 31w 5d. My maternal fetal med doctor told me that she's on the small side but it's nothing to worry about, but didn't tell me the percentile. My next appointment isn't until 36 weeks... so if I do make it that far, I think I'll probably be induced for IUGR (I'm at risk for IUGR because her cord is missing an artery)

They only induce if the baby is under the 10th percentile. I feel like she hasn't been growing much at all. My OB seemed concerned, but the maternal fetal med guy has been doing this for much longer and I guess they both assume that she's gonna come out on her own before it becomes a problem.

Holy crap this is long. Sorry!

You updated a few days ago... how are things with you now?

I read and try to keep up with everyone, but only post every few days or if something happens. Its like an outlet for all the worries in my brain. i feel that way too, sometimes I just want her to come out and get it done with then I panic cuz its still too early.
I don't have any of those other problems, only thing they saw was her kidney tubules were slightly dilated but my first daughter had that too and turned out fine, though they haven't checked on her with an ultrasound since I was about 26 weeks. So they aren't going to give you extra scans to keep an eye on her growth? Hopefully she is more than that though and the scan was inaccurate. Does everything else look good with her development wise, just small? Your right, I guess its so close to the end, she will be coming soon anyways. But wow, that is a lot to worry about nevermind her potentially coming early.
My fundal height was measuring 34 weeks on friday. My doctor is confusing me though. She said I could go back to work again after the hospital wanted me back on bedrest til the 20th. She added a stipulation that I get rides directly to and from work instead of taking the trains since she thinks that and the heat is was caused the ptl. She also said it makes her more comfortable since I work at the hospital anyways, I will be closer if something happens, I can just pop over to L&D whereas if I am at home, I have to find a ride and it could take over an hour to get there in crazy traffic. she is nervous that now I am 4cm, things will go quickly when they go. I have only had the odd random contraction here and there since being out of the hospital this time, nothing time-able, everything seems to have stabilized again. Not sure if I will be testing that theory going back to work though. My work is mostly desk duty so its not like I will be running around, they have been really nice about accommodating me and everything that has been going on. I have another appointment on the 17th when i'm 34 weeks, then every week after 36 weeks with growth scans but that is routine at my hospital. Hopefully we will make it that far I've got all my appendages crossed.

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi Lindy, kick low down were the norm for me with twins. My breech baby was squished right down at the back of me from very early on, and kicked constantly in my bladder and cervix - it didn't affect my cervix at all. It's uterine stretching which opens a weak cervix hun, not baby kicks xx

Bluestar - well done for getting this far, despite being 4cms. You have done soooo well. I'd say that in theory a gentle return to work might be ok so long as you're not running around and on your feet too much. Resting is ultimately the guaranteed safest option however.

That said, Ptl and/or a dilating cervix are about much more than just being active - tho you can do a lot to prevent its progression with plenty of rest - especially in the second trimester when baby is nowhere near ready to be born. Now that you've reached this stage and are still holding on, it's debatable that your cervix will make any other significant changes over a short space of time.

I personally would favour rest on the basis of what do you lose, so if you feel more comfortable sticking with that as a plan, then don't feel pressured into returning to work. You have come so far with rest that it makes sense to buy another few weeks by continuing to be cautious hunxx