The Short Cervix Club

[Pizdets]

Given the high number of threads started in 'pregnancy' on short/incompetent cervixes of late, I thought I'd have a crack at starting a club which we can join to share how we're getting on and pool the information we've been given which hopefully can also reassure or inform other ladies coming on here and worried about the state of their cervixes.

I'll kick off with a bit about my own story:

I'm currently 24+4, due 26th September. I had a scan at the prem clinic at Queen Charlotte's in London who measured my cervix as 2.3/2.4cm and advised a stitch (they do this for anyone who measures under 2.5cm). I had the stitch put in at 15 weeks with a spinal block and so far so good - I'm walking the dog, doing pregnancy yoga, still fairly active and no problems or twinges at all (so far!).

Please feel free to share your experiences, ask questions or update, it's great to hear from other people going through the same worry and so reassuring to know if things are going well!

Piz

Another complication I have is that my urine keeps showing mixed growth. My doctors have asked me to be on prophylactic antibiotics throughout my pregnancy now... I just hope it does not harm my little one. Have you faced this?

Sweet I wanted the stitch as a preventative measure. 5.4 is really good! Mine is currently 3.5, so already shorter than yours. I'm taking progesterone as it's an IVF pregnancy (body doesn't make enough naturally to support pregnancy in the first trimester) not for my cervix. Sounds like you are doing well!!

Alpman I'm quite scared of infections! I had a UTI before Christmas and suspected that I might have another this week so straight to GP to check. I think prophylactic antibiotics are a good idea - an infection can be more harmful to baby than antibiotics so I wouldn't hesitate to accept if I was offered.

Thinking positive thoughts for all of our babies 💕

Hi all, I was in this group about 1.5 years ago when I was pregnant with my second son after losing my first son when he was two weeks old after he was born prematurely at 25 weeks. I'm pleased to see it is still active and would love to rejoin. I am pregnant again, 8 weeks, and am booked in for my stitch at 12/13 weeks. Scared, nervous and feeling apprehensive doing this all again with a toddler in tow. Especially the bed rest/taking it easy but. Also feeling the toll being pregnant again for the third time in as many years. X

Hi April, welcome back and congratulations on your pregnancy, and great that you've been able to book the stitch already. I'm hoping to find out tomorrow when mine will be scheduled. I get what you mean about taking its toll! I've had 3 IVF cycles and on my second pregnancy in 15 months! Was your second son born at term with the stitch in place?

Hi Blueroses

It certainly does take its toll doesn't it! I went to just under 35 weeks with my second son. I started having contractions and had him by emergency c section (he was breach) fairly soon after. The stitch did its job tho and when the doc manually examined me in labour my cervix was totally shut. But then when he took out the stitch I went straight to 5cm.

So will you be around 12/13 weeks when you get the stitch? I'm actually in Dubai so am coming over to London for it like I did last time.

C

Hi April, great news that the first stitch worked and your second son arrived safely. Do they have any idea why the contractions started at 34w, was that related to the cervix? Were you also on bed rest, and if so for how long?

I'll have the stitch after my 12w nuchal scan, which is on 24th Jan, so I expect it will be done around 12/13w. My local (outer London) hospital will do it. Will they not do it for you in Dubai, or is just more expensive that way?

Hi Blueroses

No idea why I went into labour at just under 35 weeks. I guess it's a bit chicken and egg whether it was my incompetent cervix or pre term labour which is slightly different. I didn't go on strict bed rest (my doc never told me to either) but took things super easy and used a wheelchair for anything other than passing around my flat after 20 weeks. I pretty much stayed in bed around the 24/25 week tho. I was still using a wheelchair the night before I went into labour too. Not sure how I'll manage this time around. I'm in talks with my work about working from home and intend to stop working after 20 weeks. What are your intentions/what advice have you received regarding bed rest etc.?

There are doctors here who can do the stitch but I wanted a specialist who also does he TAC in case that was needed last minute. I explored lots of options in London and even the US. I eventually went with Dr Gibb who is an expert and has a lot of experience. Also he places his stitches very high using the shirodkar method which appealed to me. Who is it you will see, are you in London? I know there are a lot of very well respected docs in this field in the UK. Under the NHS rules it wasn't clear I'd be a candidate for a stitch and i absolutely wanted one and so went privately. In retrospect it was the right decision to take action as my doc here said it absolutely was necessary for me. I found the whole process so stressful as the advice I got from many experts when I first got pregnant with my second son ranged from having the TAC to doing nothing. Such a difficult one!

Sounds like you are all set for your stitch which is great. I think you mentioned you're on progesterone, will you continue to use this? I took one 400 suppository once a day every day from 12 weeks.

Good luck and keep us posted re the stitch. What kind of anaesthetic will you have? X

Sorry just saw you already said you're getting the stitch done in outer London. I'm on my phone and so can't see your message when replying!

Yes I'm in London and the stitch will be put in place by a consultant high-risk obstetrician, but my ongoing care will be under consultant pre-term specialist. I know others that have seen Dr Gibb and had successful pregnancies. If I wasn't offered the stitch by the NHS consultants I'd probably be trying to see him too.

My consultant(s) don't prescribe progesterone but as it helps prevent pre-term birth, they don't discourage it if someone is already taking it.

I'm told the success rate of the stitch is around 80% but success is defined as reaching 34wks! So I'll do anything that helps. Also consultant wants to sign me off for 6 weeks after the stitch, I don't need bedrest but need to stay off my feet. As I'm unlikely to want to go back to work at 20wks (given loss at 21wks previously), that might be it for me work wise. A mixture of holiday and sick leave until maternity leave starts at 29wks. Work know I'm pregnant - and they've known from the start that there's a possibility that I'll finish work in Feb. So hopefully it will all work out. We're also moving house soon and my nesting instincts are kicking in big time!

I don't know about anaesthetic yet, it's either a spinal or a general. I have a curved spine so I don't know whether that makes the spinal more tricky. I suffered for about 3 weeks last time after a general but went back to work after a week, so having rest time afterwards is good. Do you know which you will have?

Sounds like you have a great plan in place.

Good your consultant wants to sign you off post op. I know Dr Gibb said carry on as usual but I absolutely didn't last time and won't this time. I will take it as easy as possible.
Hope your work is being accommodating. Sadly there is no pregnancy discrimination protection here or any decent sick leave/maternity leave rights but I will leave if no other way around it.

I've just moved house too! Hope the move goes well.

I had a general last time and will this time as thats the Dr's preference but had an emergency stitch placed with my first son which was done by spinal. I think I'd opt for general. I was told it doesn't affect the baby in any bad way. It was ok with the spinal but because of the position they get you in it's pretty awkward and I prefer to just have a nice sleep and wake up when it's done! Tho if you don't react well then maybe the spinal would be better for you, I'm sure your doc will let you know what's best.

X

So I'm booked in for the stitch on 3rd Feb! (Supposed to be getting our new house on that date, eek!). Work are being great actually, feels like they genuinely want the best for me and I have no pressure at all. I'll be talking about anaesthetic etc at a pre-assessment on 24th Jan, which is the same day as my 12w scan! Suddenly the 3rd doesn't feel that far away! When is yours booked for? xx

Great stuff, Blueroses. Not long for you now! Keep us posted re your 12 week scan and stitch. I'm booked in for 16th Feb so not far behind you. Glad work is being good to you x

Hi April,
I had my 12 scan and all is looking good so far. I did my nuchal bloods and found out I can do the Harmony at a reduced cost through NHS (£300) so I decided to go for it.

The pre-assessment was also fine. I'll be having a spinal with sedation, but asked to have nil by mouth after midnight in case they need to switch to a GA.

I've been invited to participate in a study to determine which stitch material is most effective. There's a choice of 2 in common usage and if I don't participate, the consultant will choose (he says he doesn't have a preference) if I do participate, the study will randomly assign one. Not sure what to do. Do you remember what thread that you used?

If you're doing like to meet up while you're in London, I'd be happy to. I might not be able to travel very far from home but if you're interested, PM me.

Hi Ladies,

I was on this thread a year ago and was just thinking that I never updated the thread with my positive news. When I was going through pregnancy terrified of losing my baby I clung into all the positive stories so just wanted to give hope to others.
I had a cervix length of 1.1cm at 20 weeks. I took progesterone for the remainder of the pregnancy and my cervix hovered between 1 and 2cm. I gave birth at 40 weeks to a healthy baby boy who is now 8 months old.
Ill never forget those 20 weeks of constant worry and counting the weeks willing my baby to stay put.
Good luck to everyone on this thread, wishing you all the best.

Hi Daphne, thanks for coming back and sharing your story. Congratulations on your little boy. I imagine it was hugely stressful 20 weeks but I'm impressed that progesterone alone got you so far! Do you remember what dose you were on? Were you offered a stitch or was that not suitable for you? Was there any particular reason for having your cervix measured at 20w? Sorry for lots of questions, just really interested in your treatment!

Great your scan went went Blueroses. The material used for mine was merseline tape. I assume it'll be the same this time. Don't know much about the different types. I'll only be in London less than 48 hours for my op then travelling up to Yorkshire to recover with family. So it'll be tricky to meet up unfortunately as they'll keep me in hospital for a fair while of it too, tho not overnight. Maybe we can arrange a meet up when our little ones are here!

Great news, Daphne on your little one. The uncertainty when pregnant and the worry is so so tough.

No worries. It's good that you have family to recover with. I'm also going to be staying with my parents for a few days so I'm out of the way for the big move.

You mentioned that you had a wheelchair last time and it's given me ideas... I want to go to the Baby Show in March but I won't be able to spend too long on my feet (I got really bad backache last time and I didn't even know about the cervix then) so I've looked into wheelchair hire. I think it's the only way I will manage! It might also help me get out of the house as I won't be working.

Hi blueroses, sorry for delay don't check this much at the moment.
I was checked at 20 weeks as I agreed to be part of the research at the hospital - so it was complete luck that they even found it.
They said my cervix was so short that a stitch was risky at that stage in the pregnancy as there was a chance it could break my waters. If it had been found earlier, they might have done a stitch.
I really wanted a stitch for piece of mind but followed their advice and was on 200mg of progesterone every day till I was 36 weeks.
I was checked by a consultant every 2 weeks to make sure it hadn't worsened and they said if I started to dilate they could perform an emergency stitch.
Hope that answers your questions and wishing you the best of luck for the remainder of your pregnancy

Hi Daphne thanks for the info and well wishes. I'm currently on 400mg x2 per day of progesterone which seems like a high dose compared to your 200mg, but I'm so pleased to hear that it worked for you. Stitch booked for Friday and it's my last day at work today...eek!

Hello. Please may i join? Pregnant with second child, 10 Wks. DS 1 born at 29 weeks due to IC (healthy 3yr old). Lots of scans/tests after on NICU due to researches present and cervix only just in normal range when not pregnant. LETZ years ago. 2x MMCs. On progesterone due to previous IVF treatment and immune issues but pregnant naturally. Under consultant who has recommended stitch.
Sooo many questions!
Do you get scanned internally for cervix length?
Interested about stitches being too late and drugs maintaining cervix. Could i refuse stitch and go for drugs instead?
Terrified of stitch bursting or being taken out in early hours/emergency with no pain relief (read lots of horror stories!?
How often is bed test recommended and from when?

Sorry for all the questions.
Waves at Blue x

Welcome Fraggle! I can try to answer some of your questions.

All the cervical measurements that I've had so far in this pregnancy are via internal scans. As I wasn't measured in my previous pregnancy, I don't know if they do it differently later on.

I was offered the choice of having the stitch or 'wait and see' - I wanted the stitch as that gave me the reassurance to try to get pregnant again. So yes I thought be you can refuse if you don't want the stitch.
Thought of the stitch bursting scares me too, I don't know how common this is though.
My consultant doesn't recommend bedrest due to risk of DVT etc but tells me I need to stay off my feet, at least for the first 6 weeks after the stitch. I expect that if I start funnelling or dilating early then this might change. I am planning on taking it very easy for the rest of my pregnancy!

Thanks for all the info Blue. 6 weeks off your feet!? Do you mean you will have to rest in bed for 6 weeks? x

Not bedrest, but I'm guessing lots of sitting/reclining but keeping moving position to keep my circulation going!

Just checking back in to say I had my stitch on Friday, all seemed to go to plan. Having a spinal was weird - I was conscious and chatting to the nurses while I was totally numb below the hips, though there was a screen up so I couldn't see what was happening. The consultant used a nylon loop. It took several hours for the feeling to return to my feet before I could be discharged. I've had a bit of spotting since, but I've been trying to rest as much as possible. Now I'm on extended leave so have some time to recover properly!

Haven't checked this in a while as my app stopped working! Great news you are all stitched up Blueroses! Hope you're managing to recover ok. Last day for work now (long story!) on Tuesday and stitch on Thursday so not too long to go.

Welcome Fraggle rock. Can't properly respond on here but as soon as I can I will.

X