I was put on bed rest - the only option when your cervix is this thin. It was only 4 days until my water broke and my son came way too soon.
My doctor at the time assured me that the next time I got pregnant, I would be able to have a procedure done that would give me a high chance of carrying full-term or close to it.
So this pregnancy, at 12 weeks I was fortunate enough to meet with a local specialist and at 15 weeks I got a cervical cerclage.
That is about all that has gone as expected this pregnancy. Pretty much everything else came as an absolute shock.
Here are the 10 things that I didn't expect with incompetent cervix:
- Being Awake During the Cervical Cerclage Procedure - and feeling the doctor doing things inside of me. I had hoped there was a safe way to knock me out without hurting the baby, but unfortunately all I got was a spinal. It numbed all pain from the chest down, however I was still wide awake during the procedure. I could hear everything, and there were some weird sounds. I could feel objects moving around inside me. It literally felt like a dentist appointment in my vagina.
- Staying in a Recovery Room for 5 Hours Post-Procedure - I've had a gallbladder surgery, and that's about it. This recovery room experience was a first for me, and completely unexpected. The recovery time was unexpected as well. I had read online it could be 3 hours, but I didn't know why. My surgery was done at 12:30pm, and I didn't leave the hospital until about 5:30pm. I got out of the recovery room a few minutes before 5pm. That's almost 5 hours in a room full of really sick, coughing, suffering loudly people. The person to my left was hacking up a lung for hours, the person to my right was snoring really loud, and the person on the other side of the hallway stripped naked and ran off. I couldn't leave until I could lift my own butt off the bed, and I must be a light-weight because that spinal took forever to wear off.
- Taking a Pill Every Night, Vaginally - Apparently progesterone suppositories are a regular recommendation for those of us with incompetent cervix who get the cerclage. I read a study that I can't find again, but I believe it said without progesterone the cerclage is about 50% successful, and with progesterone it's above 80% successful. So every night when I am about to pass out and then remember I need to take this pill and really want to skip it and just go to sleep, I remind myself how much this can help my baby survive and get my butt up to take the pill.
- Feeling the Cervical Cerclage Inside Myself (when I insert the pill every night). This really had me freaked out the first time it happened. I was trying to figure out what the heck I was feeling, was it my baby or placenta slipping out of me? Was the cerclage falling out? It doesn't help that it was at night when my thoughts tend to really run wild. I didn't sleep at all that night. Then the doc told me it was just extra cerclage ribbon hanging down.
- Still Having to Wear Pads - One of the things I looked forward to most during pregnancy was not having to worry about pads & tampons anymore.. boy was I wrong. Some days I say screw it and don't wear them, but I usually regret that because the amount of discharge caused by my progesterone pills. It's almost enough to make you think your water broke some days.
- Having So Many Doctors Appointments - When I first found out I was pregnant, starting immediately I wanted the doctor's office to see me every week just out of concern. Being that I was only about 6 weeks, they, of course, didn't. But once I got to my second trimester I was going bi-weekly at least, sometimes weekly or even twice a week. By 20 weeks, I had been to 10 appointments when most people would be on their 2nd appointment. No complaints here - luckily I have a job that allows me to do it. I have no idea how others could keep a job and have incompetent cervix, though.
- Not Being Put on Bed Rest, But Knowing It Could Happen Any Day - Before this experience, I thought there was a good chance that when I got my cerclage I would be put on bed rest or modified bed rest at best. But I've actually been allowed to do "life as normal" - it doesn't always feel like it since I can't do anything that exudes too much energy or stress on my body like working out, or anything that could cause infection like swim or take long baths. But I can still go on vacation, go grocery shopping, do the dishes & laundry, film weddings on the weekends that I have them booked (I am a wedding videographer), etc. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to everyone, and it could not apply to me in a couple of weeks. As long as my cervix is measuring 3-4cm long my doctor says I can carry on with a fairly regular life.
- My Cervix Growing Over My Cerclage - I'm only 23 weeks right now, so as far as I know this hasn't happened to me, but I am fully expecting it to. The women I've talked to in the waiting room have had this happen, and when I brought it up to the doctor he was like, "Ah, yeah that happens," all nonchalantly. Apparently it happens a lot. They just cut the cerclage out and it leaves a lot of scar tissue.
- Planning to Have a Regular Labor Experience / Vaginal Delivery - I honestly didn't know if once I got the cerclage I'd be able to have a vaginal delivery. I thought once I was sewn up it would stay and I would have a C-section. Apparently they will do another procedure to take the cerclage out around 37 weeks, which should allow me to naturally go into labor and have a vaginal delivery anytime after that.
- Not Knowing What's a "Normal Pregnancy Pain" And What's Different For Me. There are a lot of random things that happen to pregnant women that may have never happened to someone else before, skin issues as an example is something I've dealt with. But when it comes to certain abdominal pain, it's really hard for me to know if it's "normal" or if it's because my cervix is adjusting to being sewn up, or is it infection, or is it something else? As if pregnant women don't have enough to stress out about, every little pain makes me wonder if my stitch is okay or if something could be going wrong.
Did you have a cervical cerclage? Let me know what you've been dealing with that you were totally unprepared for in the comments!