can someone PLEASE unpanic me!

[mrsbigz]

am 25wks, baby was diagnosed with CCAM at 20wks (confirmed last friday) which 'seems' to be manageable, but is putting a slight strain on his heart. i have a low lying placenta (which has veered on and off between anterior and praevia!). on friday when i saw the consultant my cervix only measured 15mm (have been having regular check-ups as my DS2 was born early at 31wks.). they have put me on cytogest (progesterone supps) and yesterday i went in for a steroid shot (2nd one due this afternoon).
i am REALLY freaking out here. i can just about cope with another prem baby as i've been there before and at least know what to expect - but certainly don't want anything to happen this early. BUT the CCAM is an additional and scary worry - 2/3 of his right lung is not working, so if he were born this early he would be even more at risk with breathing / respiratory problems.
anyone had a similar situation with a positive outcome? Or just have some reassuring words for me right now, as i'm starting to panic and i know it's not good for him.
this will be my 3rd DS so don't often have the time to just sit and relax at home. Also lost a DD at 17wks back in March, so am already stressed about this pregnancy......HELP!!!!!!!!

Hi
Sorry I don't have any experience at all of what you're talking about but didn't want to read and not respond as no-one else replied yet.
I hope someone comes along soon that can give you some reassuring words but perhaps you could take your DC out for the afternoon to take your mind off things? Sorry if this is the wrong thing to say in this situation as I don't know what CCAM is so for all I know you should be taking it easy and not exerting yourself.
Sorry, not much help x

Oh MrsBigZ I have two DSes and have also lost a DD in the second trimester. I'm so sorry to hear you are having a difficult pregnancy after all that you have been through.

Good things: you are at the stage where the docs will help. You have had the steroids and the progesterone suppositories, which I've heard are even more effective than the stitch.

Is your cervix funnelling at all or just shortened? If not funnelling then that is fab news. I went all the way through one of my pgs with a cervix that hovered at 25mm. Every time I was waiting for it to go shorter and it didn't until obviously right at the end! There is a decent chance that your cervix will stay at 15mm or even lengthen again - that happens sometimes even without any treatment.

Another good thing: Do not worry about your panic affecting him. There are thousands of women pg in war zones and emergencies all over the world right now. Panic / anxiety / stress does not send them all into labour. So don't worry about worrying

What I do think you need to do is get some practical help at home with your DS so you can go to bed and concentrate on being a giant comfy space for baby to hopefully hang around in. Do you have any friends around who can take them off your hands?

Final good news: The only baby I know of with CCAM was also born early ish - maybe 30/31 weeks? Had surgery to remove abnormal bit of lung. No problems at all thereafter.

fhdl34 thankyou for your response - i appreciate it and yes - my DChave been wonderful distractions so far and i'm sure will continue to be so. my consultant has advised me that i don't need to particularly rest, however to listen to my body and not overexert myself!! so am trying to take it easy without being a couch potato either LOL

combinearvester - thanks too for your response, and i'm sorry to hear you also lost a DD late in your pregancy :(

so far there has been no evidence of funneling and the cervix is closed, so that is a good thing i know. just got back from hospital for 2nd steroid shot, so at least that is covered now too - bum stings a bit though LOL!!
i do have family and friends close by that i can call on (and will!) but at the same time, i'm trying it think ahead to if this littl'un arrives early, we'll need to be calling in quite a few favours then as well (memories of DS2's time in SCBU - meant i was there with him most of the day every day trying to establish feeding / pumping etc).

also - thanks for sharing your knowledge about the CCAM baby - i'm glad that s/he was ok, even at that early gestation. my consultant has too spoken about removing the CCAM after he's born - but as it stands it's not too severe at the moment, so wouldn't need immediate surgery after birth - more likely a few weeks/months down the line.

Also thanks for reminding me that panicking (which is natural in these situations) isn't going to bring on early labour!! my little house is far more relaxed than a warzone so i take some comfort from that!

thanks both of you for taking the time to respond to my ramblings xxxxx

How are you doing now MrsBigZ?

thanks for thinking of me (and sorry for the ridiculously late response!!). Baby Callum arrived early at 31+4 on the 19th January via emergency c-section. he was in special care for 4 weeks and now back home with me and his brothers :) so far he's shown no signs of distress because of the ccam - we had a CT on tuesday down in oxford and are currently waiting the results of that - but as i said - he's not had any respiratory problems, even though he was born so early. hope that is a positive story for anyone else whose baby is diagnosed with CCAM - i will also update once we've seen the consultant and been told what the next steps are (if any!!)

xxx