Poss cervical incompetence - pls advise

[Mmmmcheese]

I am 10 weeks pregnant and had previous very complicated pregnancy and DS was born 9 weeks early, they think possibly due to cervical incompetence as i was 3 cm dilated at 22 weeks. They've told me I will have a cervical stitch put in this time but I'm not seeing the consultant until next Friday and have a scan next Thursday.

I'm starting to get the same kind of feeling that I had last time - kind of funny twinges and pinchy feeling in the cervix area. I called the midwife who said that they won't see anyone under 12 weeks and that my only options are to go to A&E (!) or go to my GP. I asked what my GP could do (as you can't tell cervical incompetence by looking at the cervix - you need an ultrasound) and she said that all the GP could do was refer me to a consultant and that they probably couldn't do it any sooner than next Friday anyway. So totally useless. Her attitude was basically that if something is wrong at less than 12 weeks then they can't/won't do anything about it.

What should I do? Can they do a cervical stitch at less than 12 weeks i.e. might I need one now? If not then i suppose I will just have to wait.

Am thinking of booking a provate scan for tomorrow just to put my mind at rest. Any advice?

The weight of the baby at 10 weeks isn't enough to cause dilation etc on its own so it's unlikely. And nobody really does stitches before a 12 week scan in case the pregnancy isn't viable, as grim as it is.

It's also hard to measure the cervix before about 14 weeks as it folds in on itself or something weird - I had mine measured privately at 10 weeks and it wasn't a straight line and it was hard for them to be accurate.

If you're looking at dilation (as opposed to cervical length) you could tell that externally though. Not sure if you can through a scan - probably not.

Twinges in the cervix are normal whether you have incompetent cervix or not though :)

Good luck with your pregnancy!

Thank you so much, that's really helpful. We booked a private scan anyway just for the reassurance even though the lady on the phone said that she wouldn't be able to tell much about the cervix at this early stage. Good to know that its unlikely I'm dilating already.

I'm being extra cautious because in my last pregnancy i complained about cervix pain 3 times, once to GP and twice to midwives, and no one took me seriously unless I was 3 cm dilated, and they then acknowledged that my cervix had probbaly been funnelling for some time. So I have decided that I have to be extra pushy this time as i don't want to take any risks!

My first I delivered just one day short of term (36+6) but we never suspected incompetent cervix. It wasn't until I had a routine scan at 18+3 with DC2 that we saw I had 3mm of cervix left and was 1.5cm dilated. I was told without surgery (emergency stitch) I'd deliver within a few days. I had zero symptoms - nothing. Or at least nothing that couldn't be explained away as normal.

I was one of the lucky ones and the stitch held until 34 weeks when it tore through and DC2 came out screaming and healthy at 35 weeks via EMCS as the scar tissue stopped dilation and I was showing signs of infection. I had a transabdominal stitch (TAC) for DC3 as I didn't trust what was left of my torn up incompetent cervix!

IC is so scary and usually symptomless so being proactive, as you are, is most definitely the best way forward! You'll never regret an extra scan but the reverse isn't always true.