Bf hun, not a daft question at all! By the time I went to hospital with Evie at 23wks, I was already 2/3cms dilated with membranes bulging. My amazing consultant agreed to put a stitch in despite opposition from just about every other specialist, and managed to push the membranes back in, and pull my cervix closed. It is likely that I had very little cervix length remaining afterwards. All was quiet for 24hrs, but then the indomethecin wore off and I began to contract - mildly at first, but within a week I was having strong, painful regular contractions which lasted for hours. That started on the Monday at 23+4, on the Wednesday I got my first shot of steroids and by the Thursday my waters had gone completely. I had of course been bleeding and losing masses of green discharge throughout the week. I still insisted I wasn't in labour, and because I wasn't screaming in agony I think it was easy to overlook the fact that I was. On the Thursday evening I got steroid shot #2.
I awoke on the Friday morning and oddly all the pain and contractions had stopped for the first time in 10 days.I was relieved and thought (stupidly) that maybe things had taken a turn for the better. By lunch time I felt a tickling down below, much like a spider running up and down my vaginal walls. I mentioned it to a 'heaven sent' midwife who was the loveliest mw I have come across before and since. She offered to have a look, and that's when the proverbial 's**t hit the fan'. As it transpired a little foot, no bigger than a coin was sticking out of me, and poor Evie was hanging by her head - which was still inside my uterus and couldn't make it through the stitch.
The alarms were pressed and an unsuspecting consultant had to be yanked out of his routine clinic to come up and get Evie out! No others were available due to other emergencies. The reason this had happened is that my body had laboured, and dilated through the stitch, allowing it to open enough to let her teeny body through. The stitch was not giving way tho, and remained intact. Thankfully my cervix had not torn despite this.
Everyone of course was very grim about Evie's prospects, and believed wholeheartedly that the distress of her position and predicament meant she wouldn't survive the delivery, let alone the first 24hrs after. She did, and had to be hand respirated up to the NIcU because they hadn't had time to make ready a ventilator and incubator. She looked as strong as any 24wker could, and my brave little girl made it past the first hurdle - but there were many more to come.
The only reason all of this happened bf is because I had already been dilated at the time of the stitch, and by then my body had triggered labour. A stitch does not prevent ptl, and by that point there was nothing that could be done.
Ideally I should have been scanned post stitch because my cervix probably remained very short after the op and they would have seen that it was only the stitch holding Evie in. Having said that, if they had it is likely she would have been delivered sooner, and highly probable she wouldn't have made it - on the basis that at that early stage, every day in utero makes a huge difference. Because I kept quiet about just how much pain I was in, they were non the wiser and that probably saved her life - tho we will never know for sure.
This will not happen to you hun. A stitch does not let the cervix open, nor a baby to just fall out. This could only happen under the influence of preterm labour. I had ptl because by the time I presented to hospital, my cervix was beyond repair
We were fortunate that the stitch bought us just enough time to give my beautiful daughter a chance of life, and we are thankful every hour of every day for that.
I will at some point tell Evie's story in full, but for now hope at reassures you BF that my situation was very different to yours, and the risk of this happening with your babies is so remote.
Twins are unusual in that they can be born prem for all kinds of reasons other than IC - but there is no reason with proper rest and care that this should happen to you chick. You have no other issues which put you at greater risk, so keep doing what you're doing Hun and you'll be fine
LR - reduced movement is very common in the late stages of pregnancy - it totally freaks you out tho. There is limited room and baby is preparing for the trials of labour - almost like the calm before the storm lol. Take care honey - its getting close now
