Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[book.fish2011]

Kate, was yours pink discharge or bright red? And how much was the qty, if you don't mind me asking.

Mine is pink in color. There is nothing on my knickers. I see this thing, a little bit, only when I wipe.

I messaged OB about my symptom. As long as no pain, she said I could wait.

Am in two minds about going to doc too ( firstly, she's in surgery ward at the moment, so won't personally see me), I'll have to go to ER. Where a duty doc will check, poke into my cervix etc. it's all so stressful. I just get tired by getting off, going all the way to ER, waiting for long, and seeing an unfamiliar doc.

I will wait for a while. If the discharge appears on the knickers, or if I experience any pain at all, I'll just goto ER.

God, so stressed by all this drama

 

[kateqpr]

Just wrote a long response and it deleted it!!!

Mine was normally very light, so only when i wiped, not enough to appear on a pad or knickers. It would be very light pink, sometimes my husband couldn't see it, just my keen eye!

Other times it was slightly brighter, but never bright red. Always pink. It normally stopped within ten minutes or so. Only once did it last longer and was brighter pink and on a pad, and that was after a doctor had done a speculum and was worried i may have had a cervical infection so did a speculum AND a swab, and irritated the cells down there.

Maybe rest for an hour or so and see if anything else happens. I used to get so sick of going to hospital in the end that once i didn't go either - the spotting had happened just as i was going to bed and frankly, i was just tired to spend hours in triage, probably be admitted for 24 hours, and the spotting always had stopped before. I know how you feel - it's an exhausting journey to put yourself through!

Go with your instinct, but i would say if there's more when you wipe again, then do go, then you can be seen and know you don't have to worry any more.

X

 

[book.fish2011]

Ok I will do that. Thank you Kate

 

[chistiana]

Hey BF well kate and lizzie have said it all but just wanted to say that with the spotting i had lately, it was small dots of blood (sometimes pink sometimes red) and the doc confirmed it was nothing to worry about, just from the muscly part of the cervix! Hope it s stopped already!xo

 

[lizziedripping]

Hey bf, sinister bleeding would tend to be thick, dark, and 'rich' in colour and would come from the uterus. Pink spotting is more superficial and can be from a cervical erosion or the stitch site. It is usually harmless and a reaction by your cervix and surrounding tissues to the presence of the stitch and the resultant 'pushing and pulling' around it.

Imagine a stitch in your finger, it would initially heal around it, form a scar and intermittently 'weep' and bleed as the scar healed and new skin formed beneath. The same processes are at work in your cervix except it is even more vascular, a much thicker stitch and under constant strain as your uterus grows. I am amazed bleeding with stitch doesn't happen more often. The ladies here with scar tissue left from previous stitches tend to spot more throughout because there is more potential for nicks and surface tears in the many folds, lumps and bumps in the area x

 

[book.fish2011]

Thanks Lizzie, Chris and Kate.

I somehow stopped myself from going to the hospital yesterday.

I kept checking my panties now and then for any signs. Thankfully, today it's gone back to brown mucous discharge. I have to live with this till Wednesday when I see my OB

 

[lizziedripping]

The brown is old blood bf, so the source of the bleed is obviously fading away. Try not to worry chick, you are nearly 26wks - the signs are now very good that you will go much much further in this pregnancy xxx

 

[sunkiss]

hello lovely ladies

sorry i have not updated in a while, no news is sometimes good news !! so far my stitch is doing its job n holding steady thank God!! i went for my 1st doc appt last friday since the stitch n she checked my cervix and was happy with the length at 3.0. she did see some funneling but was not concerned with it since the stitch was in place n i had cervix length there. i didnt have any funneling before the stitch (i still dont understand wut in the world funneling is lol) and she said had we not did the stitch when we did, i could have had a loss by now or we would be doing an emergency one now, so thank God she did it when she did whew!! i have been feeling fine. sometimes at the end of the day i tend to feel some heaviness at the bottom of my belly, doesnt really feel like pressure, maybe its just her head i feel down there, no spotting, occasional cramp but nothing to write home about, i sometimes feel little twinges in my vagina area, its not painful just something different, and kegals feel weird now, like i feel like im pushing something up if i am explaining it right. all in all i cant complain about anything really so far. she doesnt feel i need to be on bedrest, she said she doesnt usually put her patients on bed rest unless it was absolutely necessary. i am a lil concerned with the funneling and wut it means. do u ladies think i should be on bedrest? is this funneling bad? as soon as i go home i get straight in bed and i am sitting all day long. i just hope its enough for now n i am not risking anything. doc said if she is not worried then i shouldnt worry either. i know she is right n i trust her judgment but that doesnt help my fears. i get my cervix checked again this friday since i am having my anatomy scan but she will be seeing me every 2 weeks. i havent felt my LO one moving yet since my placenta is anterior !! she is always so active but since the placenta is in front of her it is acting as a cushion so i cant feel her little kicks. i felt Olivia from the 16th week and it was so amazing the feeling so i hope i can feel my rainbow soon. i made it pass the 18th week mark which was huge for me since my loss was right at the 18th week last time . if it wasnt for this stitch i wouldnt be here to celebrate this week so i am so grateful for intervention!! i hope all of u beautiful mommies are doing well and ur LO's are still holding strong n baking, God bless u all

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi SK - funneling is when the top part of the cervix begins to open. Imagine the letter 'Y' and that describes the appearance of your cervix perfectly. You may be funneled to the stitch, or have some remaining closed cervix above it, what matters is that you have a decent overall remaining length of closed cervix.

To give you some idea of how your cervix is behaving, mine remained fully closed until my 25wk scan with twins, when it had funneled to the stitch. At the prior 21wk scan it wasn't funneled. It is what we would expect to see in a truly incompetent cervix. As your uterus stretches and expands your cervix has 'given way' and opened without contractions. The stitch should do its job and prevent any further cervical changes.

I personally would take the opportunity to rest as much as possible, especially because your cervix has changed relatively early, BUT theoretically the stitch can and will hold which is why it was necessary in the first place. Bed rest is a contentious issue not recommended by many medics (inc. mine), but I took it anyway, I was too nervous not to.

You are doing fine hun, and have done absolutely the thing in getting the stitch. Take care, rest up as much as you can and let us know how you get on xxx

 

[sunkiss]

thank u so much lizzy, u always know the perfect way of explaining things !! ok i will continue to take it very easy and if my cervix gets shorter (what do u think is a dangerous short i should look for and in what time frame as for as weeks) i will insist on bedrest!!

 

[JJEE]

Hi Ladies,

Hope everybody is well.

Sunkiss, i have just noticed we had our stitches done on the same day, and our babies are due pretty much on the same day! I am 19wks and 2days! I also have funneling, but i have had it for 4 weeks now, i went for my check last week post stitch and my doc really wasn't that concerned about it either, although she wouldn't let me resume my normal activities! I haven't been placed on bedrest as such, but she wants me to do as little as possible!

Lizzie, sorry, i am always bombarding you with questions! I am confused about funneling to the stitch, i think i have a good amount of cervix after my stitch, i think she said 1.5cm, but if i were to funnel to the stitch, would that mean it was open to that point? and would that also mean you become quite high risk of the waters breaking on the stitch?

Kate, do you have any baby news??

Sorry for my post always being ridiculously long!Hope everybody is good.

xx

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi JJE - ask as many questions as you need hun

Funneling does mean your cervix is open at the top, and yes it can and does often open to the stitch. It is to be expected if your cervix is genuinely incompetent and isn't immediate cause for concern. Some ladies experience funneling with stitch earlier than others, some not at all - it is probably a reflection of when the stitch was placed and your own personal degree of IC. The stitch tends to add an overall tension to a weak cervix which either prevents it from funneling at all, or later than it otherwise would have done (as with me).

Funneling is not the same as dilation (which is when a cervix opens from top to bottom). As long as the stitch is there, it usually prevents dilation and the risks of prom are no greater than any other pregnant lady. To dilate fully the cervix needs to contract regularly which is a seperate but occasionally IC associated issue. Contractions can happen after IC has allowed the cervix to open enough to allow infection in and/or membranes to bulge enough to trigger them. With a stitch in place this is much less likely because cervical changes are seldom significant enough to cause it - the stitch really does work.

In your situation, with funneling at 19wks I would be inclined to give things a helping hand and stay off my feet as much as possible. This is not to say you are at any greater risk than I was in the twin pregnancy when I funneled later at 24wks, but why take any chances? Certainly rest alone has been shown to reverse funneling so what do you lose?

I may have funneled later, but I still made another 16wks after that with no further changes, no prom and carried probably quadruple the weight your cervix will bear in the coming weeks hun. Hope that helps xxx

 

[book.fish2011]

Hello, how is everyone? Kate, any good news today?

yesterday night, I saw some little fresh blood discharge. Bright red in color. Panicked and went to OB today. She checked the cervix- its about 2 cm long. Closed. I don't have any pain. No idea where the blood came from. She's taken swab and urine to test for infection. But she also thought its better to go ahead with steroids. So I got my first shot today. Second will be tomorrow.

Please. I don't want to deliver awfully early. My insurance is a madman. Please. I want to have healthy babies whom I can take home with me this time.

 

[chistiana]

BF- Hey hun, please dont panic (i know this sounds stupid) but your doc has checked you over and everything looks fine, i m assuming you also heard the babies and they are fine so the blood could well be from the cervix even though it s still closed? I mean, it s super vascular, so i guess a simple graze or some irritation could have caused a little blood, it doesnt necessarily mean your cervix is misbehaving, right? PLus you are getting your steroid shots and you re already at a safe gestational age so please please think positive. I ll be thinking of you hun.Lots of hugs, sorry i cant be of any real help

 

[DueSeptember]

We plan on trying again after the summer..Can they check for IC before we try or do I have to be pregnant for the Docs to check?

 

[chistiana]

Hi DUe. Do you suspect you have ic? I dont think they can check for ic before you re pregnant but if you ve suffered a loss from ic or you suspect you have ic your doc can give you a preventative stitch early on (around 13-14 w) with your next pg. i am assuming there is no way of checking now but i m also curious to see what other ladies think/know.

 

[JJEE]

Thankyou Lizzie, your answer has been a HUGE help to me, i have been worrying about the waters and the stitch..i thought it would be a relief not having to go back to the hospital for 4 weeks..but i am actually worrying more about there being a huge change in the meantime!!

Hi Bookfish, i hope things have settled down since your last post, i think as Chistiana said, try not to worry too much, the docs have had a look and the fact your cervix is still closed and a good length are all GOOD signs!

I hope everybody is good, and may our bodies continue to behave in the meanwhile!!

xxxx

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi Due. There is no definitive way of knowing if you have IC pre-pregnancy because your cervix is likely to be long and closed until the weight of a baby puts it under pressure , shortens and opens it around 20wks. It could be short already due to previous cervical surgeries which would make a diagnosis of IC much easier, but if not then there is no way of knowing.

Even after previous losses docs are reluctant to always diagnose it, and the trick is to get their support in placing a stitch early in pregnancy based upon your pregnancy history. Second trimester losses or early preterm births are often as a result of IC, and you should push your docs to place an elective stitch as a precaution hun xxx

 

[chistiana]

Hey everyone, just a quick update from me (too happy to keep to myself)...bubs has turned head down and the doc doubts she can turn again due to the bu...hooraaaayyyyy and touch wood! Now i have a question and maybe some of you experienced ladies can decifer...
I joked today at the doc that once the stitch is out (37 weeks) i ll go to the zoo to walk and speed up labour...so he just said "well that d be good only we re taking the stitch out at the hospital and you re staying in to give birth that day"...???????????? I confused...look at kate...3 plus weeks after stitch removal and bubs is still baking

 

[DueSeptember]

Thanks for the responses...I dont know if I do or not my water broke at 23 weeks and I Lost my Baby girl at 24 weeks they said nothing at all about IC but maybe it was an infection....the Doctor just said she was sorry and that it happens...they took blood work and swabs and nothing came back abnormal I am just trying to rule it all out before we try again trying to prevent it from happening again...