cervical stich

[joanne1973]

I lost A baby last year at 17 weeks. I am on clomid at moment trying again but i know when i do get pregnant i will have to have a stich. I have a lively three year old and wonder if it will be a case of bed rest. does anybody have expeience of this good or bad. I feel i have so much to worry about getting pregnant, then stich, then holding on til term HELP!!

Hi Joanne,

I'm so sorry you lost your baby. I haven't had experience of a cervical stitch, but have friends who have, and who have gone on to have healthy babies. I'm pretty sure that it didn't involve bedrest.

Have you come across the SANDS forum (www.sandsforum.org)? There will be lots of people on there in the same position as you. I lost my first baby in 2005 because of a fatal brain defect, and found trying to get pregnant and being pregnant much easier because of the support I got there. Good luck.

im so sorry about the lost of ur baby,i understand how hard and stressful it is tryin to get pregnant its just took us 13 months to fall pg.i wish u all the luck on the clomid.
i do know from a friend thats just had the stich done at 5 months pg after losing one baby then had a still born in the last 3 years shes been told that she cant lift anything, she wont even carry shopping bags to be on the safe side [i dont blame her, i would be the same]. not sure about the bed rest, shes not on bed rest.good luck xx

I am sorry you have such a worrying time. I myself lost 3 babies then gave up trying for a surprise pregnancy to my delight. I had the stitch at 16wks and it certainly did the job as within 24 hours of being removed I had a beautiful baby in my arms.

So chinup and best of luck that the timing will be right for you very soon

Thank you for letting me know your happy outcome. Did you have any problems with the stich or was it plain sailing? Did you have to rest alot or leave work early? I would be grateful for any advice- Sorry there are so many questions!

hi I wanted a stitch put in in my last pregnancy becse I had had 3 premature labours but the hospital refused, saying that my body just starts labour and a stitch wouldn't help. How did labour start after the stitch..?

Didn't know about the SANDS Forum going to look into it thank you everybody for taking the time to reply. It really helps hearing about other people who have had similar experiences xxx

Hi Sparklydysongothkat! Sorry to hear about your history. I can't help with your question because i didn't have stich during last pregnancy but i also had premature labour which resulted in consultant recommending stich for next time. Did you have happy outcome of last pregnancy?

well I went into Labour at 33 weeks and it couldn't be stopped, so delivered my beautiful son at 33 weeks. I will go back to my normal name and you will be able to see pics on my profile

you should be able to see the pics now

HI JOANNE1973 I HAVE HAD A CERVICAL STITCH DONE TWICE AT AROUND 14 WEEKS AND FOR BOTH THE PROCEDURE WAS DONE EASILY AND WAS BASICALLY PAIN FREE. I WAS NOT GIVEN ANY RESTRICTIONS AFTER THE STITCHES WERE PUT IN PLACE BUT I THINK THAT DEPENDS ON HOW 'HIGH RISK' YOU ARE CONSIDERED. WITH MY FIRST I CARRIED TO 36 WEEKS AND MY SECOND TO 38 WEEKS. I AM PREGNANT AGAIN NOW BUT CONSIDERING NOT DOING THE STITCH AT ALL AS ALL MY CERVICAL TESTS HAVE COME BACK 'NORMAL'.

I've had two sucessful stitches and one that failed. It is a risk and it did work for both of my pregnancies with my girls. This time round I had been having sacns every two weeks to measure the length of my cervix, I am now 29 weeks and everything has been fine so I don't need to go back for more scans.

This is encouraging - let me get this clear you are on your 3rd preg and no stitch this time just regular scans???? In my case we have just this discovered that i don't necessarily have an incompetent cervix - which is previously what my husband and i were led to believe - just a slightly increased risk of one (2% statistically) because i had a cone biopsy in 2000.

1st pregnancy miscarriage at 20 weeks, baby born alive, suspected incomptetant cervix.

2nd pregnancy, stitch at 12 weeks no complications, dd born at 38 weeks.

3rd pregnancy, stitch at 14 weeks no complications, dd2 born at 40 weeks.

4th pregnancy, stitch at 15 weeks heavy bleeding after and miscarriage four days later - also had measles at the time but baby showed no signs of being affected by the virus so dr's think the stitch caused it.

5th pregnancy, no stitch scan every two weeks, 29 weeks now and all is well, as my cervix had grown between the last two scans I'm considered to be safe now and don't need to be monitored for cervical length any more.

I'll never know if the stitch helped with the dd's but it certainly gave me peace of mind, but after my mc in July I decided to try a different approach. My cervix is probably in a worse state now than it was in my previous pregnancies as I gave birth to my baby through the stitch as there was no time to remove it.

Thanks for replying as in my case was due to have my stitch done today (3rd pregnancy) and i cancelled as i've had such a bad feeling about it this time round. The doctor has given me a few days to think about it and decide if i want to do the stitch or not. I demanded the tests yesterday - ultasound, digital cervical stress tests etc.. and we were all surprised by the results - normal - (the doc included). I was never offered these tests before and didn't even know they existed. I asked yesterday if i could be monitored every week with these tests but she told me it wouldn't make a difference. After hearing from you she is clearly not being entirely truthful - just lazy perhaps. It is so hard to decide whether to risk not doing it (which is my gut feeling) but there are risks associated with the stitch too.

My current consultnant is very good. He told me that in the last 5 years he has seen at least 6 cases like mine every year, that is women who were recommened to have stitches by other consultants. He has given them the same treatment as mine, scans every 2 weeks with a view to put in a stitch if the cervix shortens. He has not needed to put in a stitch for five years, which shows that they can be unnessesary. Most dr's now will not recommend a stitch, it's seen as old fashioned and uneeded. I would ask for regular internal ultrasounds if you do not want to have the stitch. It's a hear decision to make and I feel that I made the correct one for pregnancies 2, 3 and 5. I had a bad feeling that things were going to go wrong with number 4 but went against my instinct but my pregnancy might have failed whichever route I took.

Good luck with what ever you decide!

Thank you sooo much you have really helped. At least I know now that if my doc can't/won't help - I need to find another who will. Hope all goes really well with your pregnancy

I hope everything goes well for you too!!!!

Hi there...
i just found im pregnant with baby 6 and am waitin on a stitch...for the 2rd time... i had endless probs with the stitch last time infection after infection... and am a lil confused to have it this time... but i dnt think i have a lot of choice in the matter if i want this baby...
My last baby is 3years old now and he was born at 31 weeks... spent 3 weeks in special care... my stitch fell out on the tuesday they tried to send me home and i was havin none ov that as i lived about 20 miles from the hospital i was due to have my baby.. so they agreed to keep me in... i went in to labour on the friday with no pain or sign i really thought the midwives were winding me up... but i dilated so fast i had gone from eatin my buscuits and havin cup ov tea sat in my hospital bed to delivering my son with in 20mins...
I really dont know what to do this time i want the stitch but not all the infections.. but then i think it was worth it as he's alive and i had gone further in the pregnancie than had with my last 2...

Hi I have had 2 previous stitches and never had any complications or infections whatsoever. You were probably just very unlucky - I hope this time it goes better for you.