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Childbirth

has anyone had a cerclage at 18weeks? scared

6 replies

lovely2 · 17/11/2014 09:41

Hi everyone I need ur advice urgently and am really scared. May 2014 I had my baby at 20 weeks for my water just broke and delivered after 2days but the baby died before I delivered her. Now am pregnant again and am already 18weeks gone so my gynaecologist is saying that it is necessary I go for a stitch ( cerclage ) because of what happened with my first pregnancy. I am thinking I shouldn't go for the stitch because my cervical length is 4cm long and it's not that am dilating or something. Everything is fine at this stage but the doctor is saying it could be that I lost my first baby due to an incompetent cervix and that if it was cos of that that it will happen again and then it might be too late to safe the baby. Am really confused. Has any done a cerclage at 18weeks and how was the outcome. It is risky or safe? Please ur advice is needed urgently for I have 2 days to decide whether or not to do it. Thanks

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MrsCrankypants · 17/11/2014 15:38

It's not the same as your situation but I am 18 weeks pregnant and had a stitch put in at 13 weeks. I had a previous loss at 23 weeks so I was advised to have it done as a precaution because they didn't find a cause. I was told its 90%+ effective when done as a precaution but emergency stitches have a much lower success rate.

I was worried about the op but it was absolutely fine in the end and I'm glad I had it done to reassure me. If I'm lucky enough to have this baby and get pregnant again I would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to help!

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lovely2 · 17/11/2014 17:27

MrsCrankypants
so that means i should go ahead with it? I hope everything turns out fine. After the stitch how was it like? Was there any bleeding or discharge or anything of a sort? How many days did u stay at home before you started work? Please if u have anymore info to give me please do. Thanks

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MrsCrankypants · 18/11/2014 20:21

I can't tell you what decision to make, just my experience. As I said I would do it again if I am in the same situation. I was worried about it for the weeks before but it was really nothing to worry about.
I had a spinal anaesthetic, so I was awake for it, I could feel bits of pressure but no pain at all while they did it and they put a catheter in afterwards. I didn't feel confident enough to get up that night so it stayed in overnight so i didn't have to. The actual stitch took less than 5 mins, it was the preparation and time in recovery ward that took all the time. I had one of those hospital pads under me and there was only a few spots of blood on it and a little bit of spotting the next day. No discharge at all. I had a sore back for a couple of days from the bruising from the anaesthetic and some very mild cramping but it was a very easy recovery really. I did IVF to get pregnant and I found those procedures much worse. I could probably have gone back to work after a couple of days but I waited 5 days to give myself time to rest. Then I was back to normal and I don't feel any different now, just calmer because I feel like the baby is safer now.
Hope that helps, ask anything else if you need to.

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lovely2 · 19/11/2014 06:43

MrsCrankypants thanks alot I really appreciate. Will do it cos the thought of what might happen if I don't go on with it is something else. Haven't been myself for days really scared of what might happen. Will write on here after I have done it and will ask u some questions also if theres something to ask apart from all u have writen here. Thanks. God bless u

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MrsPear · 19/11/2014 12:03

Hello

Again different reasons - my cervix is half the length it should be - but i had a stitch put in at 17 weeks. It is not a dignified procedure but got to 31 weeks. There is a risk of miscarriage. It is something i would only allow an experienced consultant to do. I stayed overnight so they could monitor. I was told that i couldn't lift over 5kg and if i was working the consultant said he would have advised me to stop esp if it involves standing for any length of time. We went ahead on the basis that if something went wrong and we had not taken the chance we would be left wondering what it? whereas if it went wrong and we tried something then at least we could say we tried.

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lovely2 · 19/11/2014 15:37

MrsPear
thanks. For me my cervix is 4cm which is normal. The consultant has only asked me to do it cos of my past experience. She said if I want to wait and see if it will happen again that I can that she's only tellin me what I could do to prevent it. Like u said it's better to do it than nothing at all. Thanks. What was it like after the surgery?