Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[DAYDAY24]

Ladies I have been having some stinging like pains in vagina is this normal with cerclage

 

[Tink_0123]

So guess who started back with the BH again! I'm so angry and the pain is the worst. Thank God for my mom and husband

OMG, you poor thing! I hope they go away soon!! Drink LOTS of water.. pls let us know how ur day goes.. sending lots of ur way..

I have a 6x6 cm fibroid that's causing the problem

Wow thats terrible, has your dr said anything about removing it after you have the baby?

I've heard they don't tend to grow while pregnant since it feeds off of blood, but can cause discomfort in pregnancy if you have them already. As is whats happening to you at this time. I do hope, it doesn't cause anymore discomfort, sucks having to go through what we go through and having a fibroid to complicate things further.

 

[lch28]

feel better prayerful..

dayday id say thats just a normal pregnancy symptom

 

[lch28]

mme sorry your going through this hun, its very worrying, id also suggest talkign to your doctor about a stitch.

 

[mme]

Yes the stitch has been mentioned but my doc said it will be a last resort as I have a lot of scar tissue from my operations. Plus he mentioned the risk of infection. He has not totally ruled it out though. I would defiantly give it a try if it means I can carry my baby for longer. I now need to wait until my next appointment. I'm sure that if there is any change a stitch will be discussed and I will be signed off work. Luckily I have a lovely boss who actually told me to take a few days off last week to rest up. Thanks for your replies ladies, it's very reassuring to speak to others in the same or similar situation.

 

[Prayerfulmom2]

Ladies I have been having some stinging like pains in vagina is this normal with cerclage

Stinging, shooting and periodic sharp pains were common with me. Look for bleeding weird discharge and cramping are things to look for.

 

[Prayerfulmom2]

So guess who started back with the BH again! I'm so angry and the pain is the worst. Thank God for my mom and husband

OMG, you poor thing! I hope they go away soon!! Drink LOTS of water.. pls let us know how ur day goes.. sending lots of ur way..

I have a 6x6 cm fibroid that's causing the problem

Wow thats terrible, has your dr said anything about removing it after you have the baby?

I've heard they don't tend to grow while pregnant since it feeds off of blood, but can cause discomfort in pregnancy if you have them already. As is whats happening to you at this time. I do hope, it doesn't cause anymore discomfort, sucks having to go through what we go through and having a fibroid to complicate things further.

I have a scheduled c section so he said he will only remove the fibroid if its in the way because its so vascular and may cause extra bleeding so he doesn't want to change it. I'll discuss removal after delivery because it may shrink. We may want to try one more time for baby #3 so I'd like it removed before then. Fibroids tend to grow during pregnancy due to the hormones and I'm on progesterone and the shots. I think when lo turned head down, the positioning put pressure on the fibroid ( it's on my lower right side.... Weird spot).my fingers are crossed and prayers have been sent so its easing up. I just don't know what triggers it :/

 

[june2013]

Hi Ladies, I've just stumbled upon this thread. This is my first pregnancy and things had been going great. I had my first ultrasound on Friday at 20+3. During the abdominal scan they said my cervix looked short so decided to do a vaginal ultrasound where they measured it at 2.4cm. I had never even heard about the possibility of having a short cervix before or what this meant. The radiologist talked with us and told me to take it easy, no exercising or heavy lifting, and that they will scan again in a few weeks to see if anything has changed. They didn't really give us much more information.

For those of you who are experienced with this I have a few questions that I would be so grateful if you could give me some insight with:
-Is it common for the cervix to continue shortening? Have any of you started around 2.4cm and it continued to shorten or did it just stabilize at that length? I am reading that a lot of times they will recommend some form of bed rest but they didn't mention that to me, without bed rest is there a chance it could still lengthen or at least stay the same?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just starting to get nervous about what this might mean for my pregnancy.

Thank you!!

 

[ShelbyLC]

Hi, June. Welcome to the thread!

My first cervical measurement was 2.7cm at 18 weeks. I was told exactly what you were - rest and take it easy. I went back 2 days later for another scan (mine was so soon because I was carrying twins) and I measured 3.7cm after doing as little as possible for those two days between appointments. I was told to continue taking it easy, but wasn't put on bed rest, and the doctor wanted to see me a week later for another check. At that check, I was still fine around 3.7cm. A few days after that, I was back for a routine ultrasound and they found that my cervix had once again suddenly shortened to 2.2cm.

I did continue shortening after that, but it went back and forth some for me. Two weeks after that last check, and 4 weeks after my first cervical check, my cervix was 0.7cm. I was placed on strict bed rest and after a week, it grew back up to 1.0cm, which is where it stayed from 22w to 27w. I never had a cerclage.

I would definitely recommend being very careful until your next check. Drink lots of water, don't stay on your feet for too long, and don't suddenly pick up any new hobbies like mountain climbing

 

[june2013]

Hi, June. Welcome to the thread!

My first cervical measurement was 2.7cm at 18 weeks. I was told exactly what you were - rest and take it easy. I went back 2 days later for another scan (mine was so soon because I was carrying twins) and I measured 3.7cm after doing as little as possible for those two days between appointments. I was told to continue taking it easy, but wasn't put on bed rest, and the doctor wanted to see me a week later for another check. At that check, I was still fine around 3.7cm. A few days after that, I was back for a routine ultrasound and they found that my cervix had once again suddenly shortened to 2.2cm.

I did continue shortening after that, but it went back and forth some for me. Two weeks after that last check, and 4 weeks after my first cervical check, my cervix was 0.7cm. I was placed on strict bed rest and after a week, it grew back up to 1.0cm, which is where it stayed from 22w to 27w. I never had a cerclage.

I would definitely recommend being very careful until your next check. Drink lots of water, don't stay on your feet for too long, and don't suddenly pick up any new hobbies like mountain climbing

Thanks so much for your story Shelby, it's good to know that taking it easy can help the cervix from continuing to shorten. So did you deliver your twins at 27 weeks?

 

[Alliko]

Hey ladies,

I've been reading this forum on my phone while stuck in the hospital, and I have found so many great answers to my questions, but I still have a few (big ones) remaining. I'm pretty sure I have one of the worst cases of IC ever. My situation is extremely precarious right now - I'm still on the hospital writing this on my phone, so please forgive me if my thoughts sound a bit scattered.

For the backstory, in 2010 I got pregnant with my first baby, and the pregnancy had been progressing along perfectly with very few complications - I had some sudden and unexplained heavy bleeding in the 8th week, but since it stopped after 2-3 days just as suddenly as it had started, the doctor said I was just probably just passing a clot, and it was something that just occasionally happened and nothing to worry about. So I followed his advice and carried on as normal, even continuing a light version of my regular exercise routine of jogging and yoga/stretching (I'm normally a very active person). All my routine pregnancy checkups were 100% normal, cervix normal length, baby developing perfectly, etc. Then suddenly in the 20th week of my pregnancy, with no warning, I woke up one day and felt my discharge was a lot more plentiful than I'd been used to. Of course with pregnancy it had gradually increased, but this was a sudden overnight significant increase, so I worried something may be wrong and headed directly to the ER without waiting for my regular doc to become available. In the ER they discovered to my horror that my cervix was wide open and my membranes were protruding and already very low. It was way too late for a cerclage or anything, and I had developed a slight tear in my membranes which was causing the extra fluid gradually leaking out. The best they could do was wait until my membranes fully ruptured a few hours later, and then not long after that I went into labor (which was not at all easy because the baby was feet-first and didnt just "slip out" as they say. Of course my hubby and I were devastated to lose our first little boy in this way, and terrified and confused as to how it could happen so suddenly without any warning at all! The doctors investigated possible causes to the spontaneous miscarriage but found nothing conclusive. The baby had no defects and was completely perfect, and I had no known health conditions to even suggest this happening.

As with all parents who lose a child, they tell you not to blame yourself, but we couldn't keep from wondering all those "what ifs", like what if I'd stopped exercising and just took it easy (even though there had been no reason to indicate this was necessary), etc etc.

It took us quite a while to get over the loss and start TTC in earnest again, but finally 2 years later I am now pregnant again, already in my 23rd week. This pregnancy has been much more nerve-wracking than the first, since every little thing has sent me into a panic, and I also had both light and sometimes very heavy intermittent bleeding from my 7th to 10th weeks. Again the doctors investigated but could offer no explanation, and when it cleared up, they told me I was all better and my pregnancy was no longer in any danger. I asked about any precautionary measures (such as cerclage) to prevent spontaneous miscarriage in light of what happened in my first pregnancy, but the doc said there was no reason to think that it would happen again and told me the risk of infection was too great to do an "elective" early cerclage.

So two days ago I find myself on the examination table for my routine 2nd trimester ultrasound, and the doctor tells me the baby is in perfect shape, but my cervix is once again wide open (although at that point it was still a bit long) and the membranes have started funneling through!!!! Of course I panicked and went straight to the maternity emergency room, where they also checked me out and said that they weren't able to do a cerclage right away because they wanted to ensure that it wasn't an infection which had caused the opening of my cervix. So they did blood and urine tests and put me on bed rest to wait for the results to all come back. They told me certain tests took 48 hrs to run, even at top speed (!!!!) so I have been waiting here in the hospital in bed until this morning when the results finally all came back negative for infection.

However, in the meantime, my membranes sprung a tiny leak!!! Not enough for the water to come gushing out, but it slowly collects inside me and then comes out in tiny trickles from time to time when I move to go to the bathroom. (Sorry for TMI). So because of THAT they now tell me that cerclage is no longer an option because labor is imminent once the water breaks, plus there is too high a risk of infection. They also said that they cannot immediately do an emergency C-section on me to try to remove the baby and save him, because he is still only at 23w2d and the NICU can only take babies starting at 25 weeks, or occasionally up to 24 weeks on a case-by-case basis.

So here I am, in bed, terrified to move or go to the toilet for fear of disturbing my ruptured membranes and triggering labor. The docs said all I can do is wait and pray I make it to 24 weeks (5 more days) and then they can see about possibly trying to save my baby. But they seem very pessimistic and said that they rather believe that labor is imminent, and if not then I am extremely likely to develop an infection by then, which would also cause them to call the whole thing off and induce labor immediately.

Basically, I'm stuck here waiting, terrified, with no hope. Has anyone ever heard of a story where someone with ruptured membranes managed to stave away labor for 5 days? Do I have a shred of hope, or should I start preparing myself for the worst to come? Thanks for any insight any of you can provide, all your words are extremely comforting to me even despite this horrific situation.

 

[Hope2302]

Hi Alliko, welcome and so sorry you are having to go through this and sorry about ur previous loss. I know how it seems when there is so much uncertainty surrounding a situation so precious to you. As you are leaking fluid it's really tricky to carry out a cerclage so that is out of the window. I don't know if pessaries (progesterone) was mentioned to you. I sincerely pray that you can get to viability and more. I have a previous 24 weeker and she did really well in Nicu spending 93 days so I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that you at least get to viability. You are at the right place for support as the ladies on here are amazing.
You are in my thoughts and prayers. X

 

[Hope2302]

@ June, my understanding is as the cervix is very dynamic, it changes really quick and can be short or long so very unpredictable but do take it easy and do as little as possible. I would have thought that you would be given some sort of progesterone to at least be proactive about the issue till your next scan. My cervix was 0.7mm @ 21 weeks from a fortnight before where it was at 5cm. So for me it went down drastically. I have a cerclage in and am off work on bed rest.I hope it all goes well for you and you get better news at your next appointment. My only worry is God forbid if cervix is holding fine next appointment and it shortens again in a couple of weeks, might it be too late to have a cerclage? Or do you insist on having one placed no matter the result just to be cautious.

 

[ShelbyLC]

June - I delivered at 29+5. Cervical exam at 27w showed 1.0cm length and a week later at 28w showed no length to measure and 2cm dilated. I went into preterm labor around 20w and took medication that slowed (but never fully stopped) contractions. Sometime between 27 and 28 weeks I started having more frequent contractions, so not sure when exactly my cervix started shortening again. From 28w until I delivered, I was on hospital bed rest. I also had a slow amniotic fluid leak that was severe enough to be considered premature rupture of membranes but not enough to take all the fluid from around either baby. My water finally broke "for real" (the big gush) at 29+5 and my girls were born 5 hours later.

 

[Agiboma]

@Aliko i am sorry you are going through this again. I have a 25 weeker we spent 3.5 months in NICU and special care nursery he is now a very healthy, mischevious 2 year old. Im pregnant again but i have a TAC cerclage. I met a lot of ladies with ruptured membranes during my hospital stay, and to answer your question it is possible to scave off labor for another five days and hopefully a few weeks. I had 3 friends one had reuptured membranes @ 18 weeks and held off going into labour till 24 weeks, the secound was carrying twins and she also had ruptured membranes @ 19 weeks and she managed to hold off until 25 weeks when she went into labor. The third had ruptured membranes at 26 weeks and held off until 31 weeks when she went into labour. are you on an medications to prevent labor? Aliko i really feel it for you because i also lost a baby @ 20 weeks because of IC and it was a terrible experience. So my last pregnancy my dr immediately had me scheduled for a cerlcage. I wish more dr where more proactive and not let women suffer this way when a cerclage can very well give more peace of mind. Ask them about mediacations to prevent infection and also to prevent pretem labour, also ask about the steroids to help with the development of teh baby's lungs. I am sending you so much positive energy, that LO keeps baking a while longer

 

[ShelbyLC]

Alliko - I'm so sorry for the loss of your little boy! Don't give up hope yet. I had a small membranes leak discovered at 28w (but I had suspicions of a leak about a week before that, some of the ladies on here might remember, but I never had it checked out so we'll never know for sure if it was) and I held until 29+5.

 

[june2013]

Alliko I am sorry you are going through this. I have no experience with IC but I didn't want to read and not respond. I will keep you and your little one in my prayers!

@Hope and Shelby, thanks for the information about your past experiences with shortened cervixes. The doctor really didn't tell us much when she said it was shorter, didn't even mention anything about progesterone of cerclages, so I'm hoping to get an appt with my midwife this week to get more information and then hopefully they will schedule my next US for a couple of weeks.

 

[chistiana]

Ich i just saw your reply. I delivered at 35+2. They didnt have time to take it out as my girl was feet down and coming so they fid an emcs. I totally remember these pains you re describing but you could well reach 39 weeks, you re so close now!

 

[chistiana]

Ow and the contractions started first and then by the time i got to the hospital i had a small leak from a small hole in my sac so never fully ruptured

 

[Alliko]

Thanks so much for all of the encouragement and kind words - you ladies are the best! I've made it through one more day so far, and I've found that if I try to keep my spirits up and keeps distracted with books and chatting with hubby (and reading your kind words), the time passes more quickly and the waiting is less agonizing.

To answer some questions, I was on anti-contraction meds for the past few days, but today they took me off - the doc said that they not only delayed labor but also delayed the progress of the pregnancy as a whole, including the baby's development. So that would obviously not be good for the baby to have his development slowed if he is going to be born soon prematurely. I'm not extremely worried about it though - my problem is not having premature labor/contractions, but rather the membranes leaking. Last time when my membranes leaked, my contractions didn't start immediately and the docs gave me a medicine to speed them along. So as long as I can keep the membranes in as long as possible, I'm feeling a little less worried about labor suddenly starting. I hope my optimism is well-founded!

As for taking progesterone, the docs haven't suggested it, mostly because I think my cervix is beyond closing/lengthening at this point. Do you think it could have other benefits?

The docs have also talked to me about taking meds to help boost the baby's development in preparation for being born prematurely, but they haven't started me on them yet. Maybe they are still being hesitant and taking things a day at a time. All I'm on right now is a saline drip and Amoxycillin to stave away infections (but they also said they will stop that after being on it for a week because taking antibiotics for too long can also be harmful).

Just gotta make it through another night and see what tomorrow will bring!