Anyone here that has had Chorio?

ikrystal · March 2014

I'm curious to see if anyone has had a pregnancy end due to Chorio? My doctors believe that is what ultimately started my PTL (although, we'll never know for sure: chicken and egg situation). I definitely had it, as it was found in both Conner and Ben's placentas and in Benjamin's umbilical cord. I'm on the verge of TTC again with another FET cycle next month, but I am terrified because the stakes are higher now. I've noticed that few people here mention Chorio, which is understandable since it is so rare. Just hoping to reach out to anyone else who has had it - and maybe hear some success stories of people who have had healthy pregnancies after a previous pregnancy with Chorio.

stefuge · March 2014

I don't have any advice or experience, but wanted to say sorry and send some ((hugs)).

sand&starfish · March 2014

***signature warning/rainbow mentioned***

I was active after losing my son a year ago, and lurk from time to time. I'm so sorry for the loss of your boys. I lost my son at 23.5 weeks. I went to the hospital after losing my mucus plug and was on bedrest for 5 days before my water broke and I went into labor. They found chorio. My OB said chorio was the cause of my loss. I consulted with 2 mfms and they said it was Incompetent Cervix, and the chorio was secondary. I got a transabdominal cerclage 2 months after my loss and got pregnant again 3 months after my loss. My daughter was born in December at 38 weeks. I did not have any infection or issues with her pregnancy, but had the cerclage. I'm not sure if you have a plan for your next pregnancy, but I'd suggest at least cervical scans. They're not invasive and ptl and chorio can often result from Incompetent Cervix.

I hope that helps! It's such a scary process but you can do it, and it's great that you're trying to learn as much as you can before.

ikrystal · March 2014

@stefuge - thank you. I hope you are doing ok

@sand&starfish - thanks for your response! Just wondering - did you have contractions leading to your delivery? They ruled out IC for me because I labored and contracted to get dilated. So two OB's and my MFM ruled out cerclage.

sand&starfish · March 2014

@ikrystal‌ they found that I was 2cm dilated when I lost my mucus plug. I stayed at 2cm until I went into labor/my water broke. So no contractions up to 2cm, then my water broke and contractions/labor started at that point. They said my water likely broke from the chorio. If your docs already ruled out your cervix that's great. From what I understand about chorio when we were determining infection v. IC chorio is unlikely to happen again if it's not from something like your cervix.

angelsnight · March 2014

ticker warning & rainbow mentioned

I did, I believe you and I may have spoken about it in a thread a couple of weeks back. There are four doctors in my practice, two of them believe in IC and are pro-cerclage, the other two are not. Because the two pro-cerclage docs are my main doctors (and because I wanted to actually do something this time around instead of just hope and pray) I got a cerclage at 14 weeks this time around. I never had any significant shortening or funneling and I am now 3 weeks out from having my cerclage removed, and no significant sign of labor...so this time it's like a have a cervix of steel.

My doctors who are pro-cerclage do admit they can't say for sure that my PTL was or wasn't due to chorio, but they feel it could have been due to IC so why make me potentially go through another devastating loss when there is something they can try to prevent it, whereas the other doctors answer is "it probably won't happen again". Probably isn't good enough when it comes to my child's life.

They lean a little toward the chorio, because like you said, I did have contractions, which are usually absent with IC. Plus they never got to observe any shortening before hand because I had no warning signs or history of it (first pregnancy) so that is another reason they cannot say for sure it was IC...I just came into L&D at 22 weeks with intense menstrual like cramps, I was dilated to 4 and my water was leaking. But like I said, my doctors wanted to be proactive, and there is no real harm in doing a cerclage, at least early on, the risks are quite low. In my doctor's words, she sees no reason for me to ever go through another pregnancy without a cerclage, just in case.

I am no doctor, but based on what I've been told, I think I did have IC. I think the chorio also played a part, which is why I was contracting, but I think the IC came first, and the chorio was secondary. I think the reason my cervix did so well this time was due to the cerclage, and at this point having the cerclage out isn't going to automatically send me into labor since my pelvis is now supporting the weight versus just my cervix.

One main reason I feel so strongly that my loss was due to IC and not primarily to the chorio is, everyone I know that experienced a loss that was thought to be due to IC was between 18 and 23 weeks. It makes sense that at that point, the cervix, if incompetent, cannot support the weight of the baby anymore. But even the doctors who do not believe in IC cannot explain why chorio would so commonly affect women during this gestational period. I mean, what is it about being 18 to 23 weeks that would make a woman get chorio?

Sorry for the novel, it just makes me angry that some doctors won't even consider other possibilities, and just bank on the fact that "it probably won't happen again". That's fine and dandy for statistics, but we are all real people whose lives were turned upside down when we lost our babies, and saying that statistically it won't happen again is not enough IMO. I am 39 weeks 1 day and my induction (I have GD) is scheduled for Tuesday. Good luck with TTC soon and big hugs, pgal is so hard, but I am proof a successful pregnancy after chorio and/or IC is possible.

ikrystal · March 2014

@angelsnight Thanks for responding. I think that is interesting that you got the cerclage when you had contractions before. I'm so glad I read this. It makes me want to push harder for a cerclage with my next pregnancy. I am just in a tough position because I have three doctors who said I am not a candidate for cerclage, and no one who says I am. My OB says there are risks to the cerclage, including an infection, that he does not want to risk if I do not need one. But I have this gut feeling that I need to get one. I think they are measuring my cervix every week and they can do an emergent cerclage if necessary. I'm glad to see you made it to term! Good luck on Tuesday

Jellybean71514 · March 2014

Your story is inspiring thank you - they don't know yet what caused my water to break they will wait for cultures since this all happened on Monday but I do know my cervix was a bit open when I went to the hospital and I was not contracting so definitely you have given me something to look into when I'm TTC in a few months- thanks and best of luck Tuesday please let us know how you're doing.

Maybe Joleisa · March 2014

ikrystal said:

@angelsnight Thanks for responding. I think that is interesting that you got the cerclage when you had contractions before. I'm so glad I read this. It makes me want to push harder for a cerclage with my next pregnancy. I am just in a tough position because I have three doctors who said I am not a candidate for cerclage, and no one who says I am. My OB says there are risks to the cerclage, including an infection, that he does not want to risk if I do not need one. But I have this gut feeling that I need to get one. I think they are measuring my cervix every week and they can do an emergent cerclage if necessary. I'm glad to see you made it to term! Good luck on Tuesday

I didn't have chorio, but I did have an IC that went from 1.8 cm to fully dilated and in full blown labor two days later with no warning signs. I begged for an emergency cerclage or pessary (2 days prior to delivering), but because I was carrying twins they said there was a greater risk of causing harm than doing good; so my docs took the wait and see approach and here I am.

IC/PTL/infection/etc...is such a chicken vs egg situation. Before losing Anthony & Benjamin I knew I would do anything possible to save them and now that I've lost them I am determined to do everything possible to prevent my IC from being an issue ever again. My docs now want to do a preventative cerclage, because that "should" work but like @sand&starfish I'm getting a transabdominal cerclage against the recommendation of my MFMs. I will find a new MFM, because that is what my gut is telling me. GO WITH YOUR GUT and find a doctor that will give you a preventative cerclage at 12-15 weeks if you feel you need to get one. MFMs are looking out for your health--not necessarily your unborn baby's. They are not the ones grieving for years following our losses...

@angelsnight: Good luck on Tuesday!

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