Tell me about cervical length...

leneae10

I have a friend who lost her twins at 20 weeks due to IC and I'm paranoid it will happen to me.  At my NT scan, the sonographer checked and my length was 3.5 cm (? is that the right unit)?  She said as long as it's over 3, we're good.  So, that's only .5cm of play - is that enough!???  Does it change, get longer, the further you are along, or is that the longest it will be?  I'm terrified.

susanc07

mine was 3.5 from 17 weeks until 26 weeks.

then at 27 i was 4 cm dilated.  go figure.  it can stay 1 certain length for a very long time.  i'm sure you'll be fine.

robinsokj

Mine went from 52mm to 47mm to 55mm and monday it was at 43mm.  Its possible for it to go back up.  Mine went up with the help of restricted activity/modified bedrest.  I was having frequent contractions

nygrl79

3.5 cm is considered very good!  I believe the rule is anything below 2.5 cm is something to worry about.  The important thing, in addition to length, is that it is not soft (does not budge under pressure, when your Dr. presses on the bottom of your stomach).  The cervical length can lower as the pregnancy progresses, so your Drs. are probably going to watch it/check it.  Some people stay at the same length until labor.  Don't worry without cause, 3.5 cm is a good length.

 

eileenm21

mine has been at 4 since about 12 weeks through 32 weeks, now its dropped to 3. 

seattlestef

That is good! Mine was between 3.5 and 4 until I was 33w, then it went to 2.5, which was considered fine for being that far along. Your concerns are understandable given what your friend experienced, but it sounds like your cervix is doing good! I had mine checked every 2 weeks throughout my pregnancy so we would be able to catch it early if it changed.

leneae10

Thanks ladies!  As always, you're super helpful and reassuring.  It's just something I can't get off my mind lately...

kimarino13

My cervix, at its longest, was 6.5 cm.  It has been 3.2 cm now for about a month.  My Peri is really happy with this.

SoldiersGreenBean

As my OB reminded me yesterday, the cervix is a muscle (as is your uterus), so changes in length are to be expected.  I imagine this is why bedrest often helps - when your cervix muscle gets tired from holding them in, and you take the pressure off, it can stop working so hard and lengthen again.

My OB's view is that anything about 3 cm (yes, metric is the right unit) is good.  We start to watch more closely btwn 2 and 3, and anything under 2 earns me some bedrest.  I'll be curious to see what the MFM's take on it is next week.

CrazeyJaneyR

mine has been under 3 since October and while they have watched closely, nothing bad has happened. This week I had my last cervical measurement - they stop measuring at 32 weeks.