Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[lizziedripping]

Amy - how are you now hun? Bit worried about you since reading about your stay in hospital. It isn't wise to keep having internals given your temperamental cervix, but don't hesitate to get checked out if anything changes. Keep us posted x

JW - that's very good news hun. At 24wks, your cervix is a good length and not much longer now before you are out of the "danger zone" anyway. Keep resting, it really does lengthen the cervix. x

 

[berryblue290]

So happy to read all the updates on you ladies, makes me feel better.
I will be 28 weeks Saturday, my doctor has stopped checking my cervix as there isn't anything we can do anymore about the cervix. It started at 2.5 went down to 2.1 and last time after a few weeks of bed rest was 2.9 so I was told to stay on bed rest I am still using progesterone suppositories, and on bed rest but kind of modified it myself. I have been getting up every couple days and getting out of the house, but mainly just laying in bed. Feeling the baby a lot more now as I have an anterior placenta so it makes me feel a lot less neurotic!!
If anyone else is using progesterone or used progesterone, how long did you continue to use it until? then End?

 

[Vaudha]

If anyone else is using progesterone or used progesterone, how long did you continue to use it until? then End?

berryblue, I was on progesterone for almost 16 weeks!!! From 18th week to 34 weeks. My doctor asked me to stop it just few days before. I guess it is safe and in fact helpful keeping the uterus relaxed and to maintain cervix length.

Girls, I have a question. How should be the kick count. All this time my baby was kicking a real lot. Since 2-3 days it is quite less. I do feel movements though but not as much as before.

 

[MikaylasMummy]

just a question ladies does anyone know if the use of progesterone in pregnancy can cause the bub to be born with excess hair?my little monkey has hair all over his shoulders back and ears hes a very hairy little guy..my side of the family is hairy but none of us were born with so much!

 

[Vaudha]

hmmmm this makes me worried. I have heard/read that progesterone in pregnancy can cause the bub to be born with facial hair and excess hair. What if my baby is girl ? (In india we do not get to know the gender of the baby).

 

[Susanah]

Hi all

I dont know if this helps, but I was told not to use progesterone because of this, as having a girl. It is thought to cause masculinisation of the fetus. I don't know a huge amount about it but my obstetrician was against progesterone for this reason. Also he said there was very little strong evidence for it working at present. At the time (10 weeks ago) I was pretty keen to have it as was so uncertain about the pregnancy surviving. But we have got this far

With all these things - there is very little evidence - and progesterone seems to have been valuable to many I have met on this forum. At one point I felt I was the only woman with IC not having it and asked again for it, only to be told the above (again!)
There are some major trials going on using progesterone - but they havn't reached the north of england.

Am now 28 weeks + 3 and going for a growth scan tomorrow. Nervous but hopeful.
Interestingly, in contrast to many people on here, I have not had my cervix "checked" since my stitch, though on the last growth scan the ultrasonographer could see a closed internal Os. Such very different management of the same condition.

Happy new year to all

Susanah

 

[jessabella]

Hi all,

Amy- have they said why they're not going to check your cervix? The length sounds good, but I'm so sorry you've had to cope with infection too. I really hope that everything runs smoothly for you, but I don't know how to help. Could you make another appointment with your consultant to review when you've finished the antibiotics, then you can tell them your concerns?

Mich- the info you gave about people not delivering prematurely after 26 weeks when there are no other issues rings true with my consultant telling me at my 26 week appointment that she didn't think pre-term labour was now an issue as the stitch seemed to be strong and my issues were mechanical not related to unexplained pre- term labour.

RG- you're doing brilliantly, hang on in there. 28 weeks does seem far too soon, I was never satisfied with every goal, but my consultant breathed a massive sigh of relief when I hit 28 weeks. A friend of mine has twin nephews who were born at 30 weeks. They are 1 now and are thriving.

Nikita- Koby and mikayla sound fab- we didn't toilet train Oliver til he was nearly 3. He did it very quickly, but to be so good at 2 years old is fab. Sounds like Koby is sleeping great too, what a little prince!

I'm 37 weeks and 2 days, still hanging on, but don't know for how much longer as the baby feels even lower. I really want to get to my section date, which is at 39 weeks (13 days away) but I'm not convinced!

Jb- how's it going? I'm so jealous you have your little princess. She is just beautiful x

We are going well...Olivia hasnt put on any weight yet but is feeding well. She had bad bad wind though..so now she is on infacol and will be increasing the dose to two dropers instead of one droper today I hate seeing her squirm around and whinging with discomfort..but she doenst cry much which is a big blessing.
If that doesnt work then will be eliminating foods from my diet..which will be hard as I dont eat very much or a variety of things anyway...
Even still she keeps stealing our heart and of course our world is all about her..she is sleeping well and gives me atleast 6 hours each night of unbroken sleep which is all I need on a normal day to be honest. The price of that is that sleep is only after her 4/5am feed. So Im usually drifting in and out of sleep from 1-5am or either I just stay up and watch tv until then.

I am doing well except I still have SPD and the pain comes when I walk too far..but I sitll push anyway..

Its good to hear that everyone is still doing well!!

 

[jessabella]

hey ladies..hope u all had a good time over the christmas new year period..how are u all doing?been a bit on the quiet front for a few days!!
just a little update on us..koby is going really really well he is absoloutley massive and has started only waking up once a night!! idont know myself anymore..haha..he goes down at 9.30 wakes at 2or3 am and then sleeps til 5-6 has a little feed then in til 7.30..so nice to actually have a bit of routine and to know what to expect at night now!mikayla is going really well with toilet training too only had one day with two out of the ordinary accidents other than that shes doing great!finally!!

aww bless good job for Mikayla..and sounds like Koby is doing well too!!

 

[jessabella]

Hi all

I dont know if this helps, but I was told not to use progesterone because of this, as having a girl. It is thought to cause masculinisation of the fetus. I don't know a huge amount about it but my obstetrician was against progesterone for this reason. Also he said there was very little strong evidence for it working at present. At the time (10 weeks ago) I was pretty keen to have it as was so uncertain about the pregnancy surviving. But we have got this far

With all these things - there is very little evidence - and progesterone seems to have been valuable to many I have met on this forum. At one point I felt I was the only woman with IC not having it and asked again for it, only to be told the above (again!)
There are some major trials going on using progesterone - but they havn't reached the north of england.

Am now 28 weeks + 3 and going for a growth scan tomorrow. Nervous but hopeful.
Interestingly, in contrast to many people on here, I have not had my cervix "checked" since my stitch, though on the last growth scan the ultrasonographer could see a closed internal Os. Such very different management of the same condition.

Happy new year to all

Susanah

Hang in there Susannh...I know its hard when our cervix hasnt been checked because we want to know what is going on..I was told by my doctor it was best not to check it unless he had an idea that something was wrong and to just pay attention to what was going on with my body!!
Everything worked out FOR ME!! Cant wait ot hear about youer growth scan..
I had one at 31 weeks and found out I was having a wopper...and when I finally did have her at 38w she as just over 8lbs...woah..dont want to know what she would have been at 40w.

 

[jessabella]

just a question ladies does anyone know if the use of progesterone in pregnancy can cause the bub to be born with excess hair?my little monkey has hair all over his shoulders back and ears hes a very hairy little guy..my side of the family is hairy but none of us were born with so much!

I forgot to mention Olivia has hair everywhere..her head is full..and sideburns all the way down to bottom of earlobe..and she has hair on he back and arms too! They said it will fall off though.

 

[mich1365]

Vauda...from what I have read, around the early 30 weeks the baby's movements may feel a bit less due to size and his/her being so tightly constrained. That has certainly been true for me in this pregnancy but baby is doing great. I think the kick counting can make one crazy...I finally threw out the sheet my doc gave me with my 1st son. But better to be safe and making sure you feel several movements throughout the day.

Progesterone...I found some info saying the masculinization issue had been disproven, but who knows. I will try to remember to report on hair on my little guy when he is born.
I was told to stop at 36 weeks but stopped at 35 when I ran out. My dosage was 200mg once a day at bedtime, a little less than some. Ive now been off for 1.5 weeks and nothing has changed.

 

[Emilyc]

hi mich, Im on 400mg at night to stop my cervix changing its 24mm in length and no stitch. Do you think it can eork to hold the cervix? xx

 

[mich1365]

Emily,
What I think is that you are in great shape and taking all the right precautions. You have a whole cm more than I did at that stage, extra progesterone, and doing the rest. You are going to go all the way with this pregnancy. Im sure!!!
Hang in there. The rest is tough, I know.
xo
PS...you are close to 24 wks now???

 

[Vaudha]

I was praying and hoping for baby girl all this time but now I am praying for boy just in case the hair thing is true
I hope everything will be fine.....

mich- I guess you are right. Keeping kick count can make me crazy and I am such a paranoid person as it is . Baby is moving after each meal and sometimes more in midnight. That's enough I am sure.

I will be 35 weeks tomorrow and I think they will remove my stitch in another 1.5 weeks.

love/
Vasu

 

[berryblue290]

I wouldn't be worried about the hair issue, its is just hair it will go away. I am just hoping for a healthy baby
Plus I am sure there would be MANY things on the internet if true and your doctor would tell you about it

 

[MikaylasMummy]

just a question ladies does anyone know if the use of progesterone in pregnancy can cause the bub to be born with excess hair?my little monkey has hair all over his shoulders back and ears hes a very hairy little guy..my side of the family is hairy but none of us were born with so much!

I forgot to mention Olivia has hair everywhere..her head is full..and sideburns all the way down to bottom of earlobe..and she has hair on he back and arms too! They said it will fall off though.

wow maybe it is the progesterone sounds just like koby's hair!his is still hanging around so far although it has thinned out

 

[Emilyc]

Hi mich, Im not good at resting as im single and need to walk the dog and look after my house.
I have weekly scans and tomor is scan day.
I am 24 weeks next wed x

 

[HelenGee]

I'm really worried about the hair thing now, having seen 2 consultants neither of whom were concerned enough to mention that this might be an issue, even when I was on a higher dose of cyclogest. In fact, I was advised to cut my dose in half at 28 weeks and only use it once per day, but to carry on until 32 weeks.

I read that the masculinisation issue was disproven too, that when used in regulated doses such as cyclogest, it is micronized and the amounts are too small to be harmful to babies. Problems arose when people were using progesterone creams and piling on unregulated amounts. This drug is also used as ivf treatment prior to and over the course of pregnancy, so I think there would be more news of this on the Internet and doctors would warn about it.

I think any excess hair is a temporary thing, of course this worries me though as I'm expecting a girl. Although i didn't use peogesterone that time my son had a lot of hair around the back of his head and down his neck when he was born and it did take about 10 weeks to gradually thin and fall out. This was dark hair, yet as you can see from the picture, he's blonde.

So who knows, I really am hoping that if there is an effect it is temporary. It seems strange that a drug that is so widely used in pregnancy for many reasons might have side effects that are not mentioned by doctors. Even the midwives at my hospital say how effective cyclogest is and has been in preventing miscarriage in both the first and second trimester.

Oh, and my DH found this bit of info out, miscarriage has often been linked to stress as stress severely reduces the amount of progesterone in your body. Based on this and the fact that I haven't gone a day without worrying sick about something, I'm hoping that if there are any issues, I've stressed them away!

I can't worry about this anymore as it's driving me insane and there's only 11 days left til my c section date. I'm praying that all is ok, but the stitch and the drugs have got me this far when I was facing a very bleak outlook at 21 weeks.

 

[lizziedripping]

For what it's worth ladies, I would have gladly taken progesterone if it had been offered. I had heard brilliant things about it, especially for women who don't seem to produce enough progesterone of their own. This was never an issue for me, but it also works to firm up the cervix, and as someone with an atonal cervix, that would have been very beneficial.

The body hair thing is likely just temporary, and much more to do with genetics than the drug. I also think it's a small price to pay for getting a baby to term. Keep baking my lovelies - and Aspen, RG and the others who have been absent for a while, do you mind just checking in to let us know all is well.

JB - your bubs is a sweetheart hun. The colic at 3wks is very common, and seems to affect previously calm babies. You ought to try colief infant drops in her bottle - or before BF, they worked a treat for my "fussy" twin. Also, I swore by the Mam anti-colic bottles. They have a vented system in the base - it transformed Noah's life xxx

 

[RachaelS]

I am really pleased I was given the Progesterone, I reduced from 2.3cm to 1.1cm in a very short space of time but since being on the Cyclogest from 27 weeks have stayed at 1.1. I'm not 33 weeks and 4 days, so hair or not I am so happy!

I hope that everyone on here is doing well? I've been off the forums for a while because I just felt like I needed to concentrate on not panicking and feeling well, but I am back now! Baby is fine and though everone says movements get less around now, mine seems to be doing a jig ALL the time which is a little uncomfortable given the size of the baby and the lack of space inside me!

Rach
XXxxx