November 2013 Moms
Shopaholic42488
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Short cervix
Shopaholic42488
member
Ok girls. I went to the er today because I had lots of cramping and a small amount of blood, just spotting. Did an ultrasound and baby girl is ok. They did say my cervix was 1.8cm so I'm very worried. I am going back tomorrow since the high risk ultrasound is closed on Sunday. Any others have experience with this???
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Re: Short cervix
Hi. I'm a patient of a mixed group of midwives and OBs and none of them felt comfortable monitoring me themselves so I've been seeing an MFM group (high risk OB) for the past month. At 18 and 19w my cervix was at 2.2cm, give or take a tiny bit. I went to L&D due to some serious bleeding that turned out to be a stupid polyp on my cervix, completely not an issue at all - but if I hadn't gone in, they would not have done ultrasounds and checked my cervix so it wound up being a good thing.
I DON'T say this to freak you out but often cervical shortening and dilation can happen completely without incident/pain/a single symptom. Try to stay in bed as much as you can for now and drink a TON of water. There's actually very little evidence that bedrest helps with shortened cervix but for now, until you have a plan in place, take it easy.
Your cervical measurements should ALWAYS be done via transvaginal ultrasound with an empty bladder. Full bladder or belly ultrasounds do not give an accurate measurement (to give an example - the first u/s I had w/ all of this was abdominal and said my cervix was over 4cm, and ten minutes later the transvaginal said 2.2cm).
Next, you absolutely should demand (at the very least) progesterone supplementation with Crinone specifically. If you have had previous pregnancies with preterm birth, they can start you on p17 shots (either compounded at a special pharmacy or brand name Makena). If you've had no previous preterm births, (per my MFMs) the Crinone is the best option. The shots are a better option/have better outcomes for women who've had premature deliveries before. Either way, you absolutely need to put your foot down and get on some sort of progesterone supplementation. I was fortunate enough that I responded to the Crinone almost immediately and my cervix has held steady at my 20 and 21 week ultrasounds - it's at 3.6 right now.
More info on this here: https://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/progesterone-treatment-to-prevent-preterm-birth.aspx
The next step(s) will be weekly monitoring of your cervix - this should be done if possible on the same ultrasound machine and by the same technician each time to insure that your measurements are as accurate as can be.
At 1.8cm, there's a chance the MFM team will talk to you about a cervical cerclage to prevent shortening any further, which is a stitch placed in your cervix (like a purse string). It varies a bit by provider when they will put them in, but my MFMs said that if my cervix dropped below 2 it was time for a cerclage. It might be different for you - but if you feel that your care is substandard please don't hesitate to get a 2nd opinion from a second care provider.
Deep breaths, for the love of GOD don't Google anything yet, and try to stay off your feet tonight and tomorrow as much as you possibly can. Please also keep us posted.
However bedrest did help lengthen my cervix...I'm a firm believer in it!
I was going to type a whole bunch of things, but you put it very well and gave lots of good info. I'll say good luck and keep us posted. My DS came early because of my stupid short cervix but thankfully he was perfect and healthy. I hope you and everyone else dealing with this has a good rest of pregnancy. Debate this you are always on my mind, sending good thoughts.
Good luck today, hope everything's looking good. Keep us posted!!
Awesome!
Woot woot! My 4 cm are jealous lol!!!
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