Severely premmie baby, will it happen again?

[Alice1608]

I had my son nearly 12 years ago at 25 weeks. He was born early due to an disintegrated cervix and he was in hospital for a total of 13 weeks.
This time was incredibly scary and we have been extremely fortunate that he is now a happy and healthy (if not moody - coming into teenager mode..lol) 12 year old.
The thought of another child is quite frankly terrifying as I have no idea if I will have this same issue happen again. More to the point that I now have a child's feelings to consider if something was to go wrong too..
I am now 35 and currently have an implant in. Will I struggle with conceiving again? Will they stitch me in this time? At what point do they do this? and will it work? Then there is the issue that I currently have through implant and if to take out now? As could take a year to have body ready to try again?
If anyone is able to help and provide examples on their own experiences, I would really appreciate it!
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give. xx

Hi @Alice1608 I can't offer any advice myself, but it does sound like a matter to be discussed with an obstetrician/gynaecologist. Have you already sought specific medical advice? I mean, obviously not a GP but a consultant?

Thank you for your reply! When this happened 12 years ago they mentioned a stitch. So I know that's what they will do.. I think I was more looking for support or shared experiences on things going right? And also advise on TTC when ready as I currently have the implant, like when to take it our etc.. xx

Can't give any advice regarding the stich or premmie, but I'm really sorry that happened, must have been really scary! I'm so glad to read our son is happy and healthy but it must have been so scary at the time!

Regarding the implant, I would get it removed ASAP! Mine took months and months for my cycle to return to anything resembling normal. If you aren't ready to ttc yet, I would have that removed then just use condoms until you are to give your body a chance to get it out of your system. Good luck op!

*your son, obviously. Unless we have a child together that I don't know about (and no idea how that would even work haha)

My friend had a similar experience, her first was at 24 weeks due to incompetent cervix, she had a stitch for her second and he was born at 30 weeks. Definitely speak to a doctor about this

Haha this made me chuckle and thank you for your kind words! Xxx

Yes i think this is the best thing, remove implant and use condoms.until ready. 😊 thank you xxx

O no! 30 weeks is still far to early and I was hoping the stitch was the answer as.i know people that has it and went overdue and it solved the problem.. 😪 xxx

Hey hope I can help (maybe). I have a DD who was premie 34 weeks but contractions started at 31 weeks. Currently 22 weeks with #2. There are a few mums in my due date group with a similar history. Basically anyone with known premie issues is consultant led and is generally put on progesterone pessaries from at least 16 weeks if not earlier. That’s meant to help prevent shortening of the cervix. At 16 weeks they measure cervix length and depending on your situation they remeasure frequently to look for changes in length indicating possible preterm labour. Mine has been monthly, another mum every 2 weeks, someone else every 3 weeks. There is someone in the group who is shortening already and they did get a stitch put in recently, so around 20 weeks. She said it didn’t hurt, just a bit numb and stingy after the surgery for a day. Mine hadn’t changed length at all and they’ve more or less said looks like my issues won’t recur (fingers crossed). I’d love a normal pregnancy and no nicu time. The nicu is a wonderful and awful place all at once, and I’m pretty sure anyone whose been involved there has some level of fear/ptsd about their next child going in too, so I understand your concerns. With regards to age, I’m 36, and was pregnant in 3 cycles post pill, cycles came back immediately. My doctor said the miscarriage rate increases with age, but generally if you can get pregnant, and have in the past, it’s likely to still happen between 3-6 cycles of TTC. Good luck!

Thank you so much for taking the time to get in touch and write such a wonderful response touching on all my fears! It does help to know this and ease some of my concerns, just knowing that they have such a good handle on things now. What happened to me was 12 years ago now and it was all abit too late, everyone was shocked, medicine wasn't as advanced and I just feel so grateful we had the outcome we did! So it does help that they are more prepared this time! Thank you Thank you thank you! Xxxx

at our local hospital they let you book in an appointment to speak to an experienced midwife about your birth experience. The appointment lasts an hour and you can go through the whole thing in detail and talk about why things happened and what can be done to stop them happening again. My experience was different but I had the appointment so I could make an informed decision about birth plans etc for my second. Might be worth you finding out if a similar service is available? You’ll find out the real stats rather than being put off because someone’s friend on MN had a preemie despite having a stitch. Maybe this happens a lot or maybe it happens to 1 in 10000 people.

I've had 2 preemies both born at 32 weeks & the baby in-between died at 26 weeks.
I had a stitch in my cervix with my last child, lots of observations & scans throughout my pregnancy however my waters broke early again, the stitch needed to be removed & he was born at 32 weeks also. I vaguely recall something about a 75% likelihood of a full term pregnancy, so I guess if you have other maternal issues, that may still result in a prem baby.

Thank you for this, definitely worth asking about and looking into! Xxx

Hi, Thank you so much for your reply and sorry for your lost baby.
Its good to hear others experiences and how long they have lasted and if stitches work etc.
I think there are lots of reasons for premmies so obviously some will still override the stitch and still be prem. However the key is how early and to minimise the hospital stay and complications for the little bundles. 32 weeks is amazing and I'm assuming it was a few weeks hospital stay and they were home with you? All now a distant memory? Lol (time is a healer isn't it on birth drama) xxx