Cervix Funneling - down to 4 mm at 33 weeks.

[VixStarr]

I had a scan to see if my placenta had moved to discover that my cervix has shortened down to 4 mm.

I have been given steriods injections and told to rest lots but am feeling very under prepared for the possibility of an early arrival. But how likely is this to actually happen? I didn't feel as if I got a chance to chat properly about percentages. I have this urge to get everything ready for the baby/clean manically but obviously cannot .

Anyway has anyone had any experience of this? Or any advice of what I need to do to get myself ready? Will I have a good chance to breastfeed? Will i be allowed to stay at the hospital if the baby is in SCBU?

Hi, I didn't want to read and run, I don't have direct experience of this. But do have SCBU experience. My Dd went into distress hours after birth and stopped breathing. For the week she was in NICU and SCBU I had the option on staying in. However I left after 3 days. I couldn't stand staying on the post natal ward where I had no baby and no one would speak to me as they were so scared to imagine the same happening to them. If you do end up in push for a private room, it is normally offered but just push if it's not.

As far as SCBU is concerned remember this, it is your child and don't ever be afraid to push, ask or fight for your child. Having said all that my DD was so well cared for there.
Basic generalisations of SCBU - your child will need to stay until they can self regulate temp (normally around 4lbs) and are feeding well. You can borrow hospital pumps normally, if you are offered this do it! There's are so much better than domestic ones (certainly in my case anyway) I firmly believe that using this hardcore pump helped my milk come in despite DD not feeding for a week.

I'm sorry this is happening to you. Just hang in there and rest as much as you can.

Hope my very limited knowledge can help.

Vix my DS was born at 31+5, and I was in hospital for 3 weeks before he arrived.

In my case, I stayed on postnatal for 3 nights after the birth (thankfully they gave me a private room, no way I would have coped otherwise), then I was discharged, while DS remained in SCBU for another 2 weeks. I visited every day between 7am and 7pm as a general rule (hospital was a 30 min bus ride from home). If the hospital is a long way from your home, they can usually accommodate you, either in a parents room on SCBU if available, or some hospitals have Ronald McDonald housing for parents of children in the hospital who live too far away to go home every night.

Ask if you can have a tour of SCBU in advance, and speak to the doctors / nurses - they will be able to give you a better idea of what to expect, potentially.

You will absolutely have a chance to breastfeed - ask for help from the infant feeding specialist. Start by hand expressing to get colostrum (again, get someone to show you how to do this if you don't know how), then you should have use of hospital grade pumps on SCBU, and maybe even the chance to borrow one for home too.

At 33+ weeks, having already had the steroid injections, baby should be in a great place - hopefully just needing to gain weight, learn how to feed and maintain temperature. Sometimes they can be a little jaundiced, and depending how much, they can be given light therapy.

Sorry that I can't shed any light on your particular circumstance, but I promise you, if baby does come early, you will manage. Don't be afraid to ask for help/support if you need it (I needed counselling after DS' birth, which I was helped to get by a very intuitive neonatal nurse who recognised that I wasn't coping), keep asking questions.

Hope baby manages to keep cooking for a while longer yet