WeloveHarriet
06-10-2006, 09:50 AM
Kylie I just read up on the cerclage you are having, it sounds painful! Did you have one with Harriet, if you don't mind me asking? It seems like a pretty big procedure, is it and is it a common procedure? I am just amazed they can do it, I hadn't even heard of it until your post.
Hi Twitch - yep had a cerclage with Harriet. With our first baby we lost at 19wk we were overseas and my waters broke. Because I hadn't been to see an OB they didn't really know what had happened. I had complained to my sister about feeling really heavy at 16wks but just laughed it off as all being in my head. When we fell with Harriet and went for our first OB visit at 10wks he said that all symptoms led him to believe I had an incompetent cervix. He recommended that at 14wks he place a cerclage (suture) around my cervix. It is only a day surgery procedure and you can either have it done under general or a spinal block. Because there is still a risk of losing the baby whilst it is being done, I chose a general. The happiest discussion I ever had was the nurse saying to me in recovery - "You were 14wks pregnant when you went into surgery, and you are still 14wks pregnant now!". I didn't experience any pain or bleeding which was nice. You have to be a little more careful whilst pregnant - they recommend not standing for long period of times, extreme care whilst having sex, no hot hot baths and minimal nipple stimulation (sorry probably TMI LOL) - anything that can lead you into early contractions. When they did my ultrasound at 20wks my cervix had already started to funnel and shorten, by the time I had my 28wk ultrasound the stitch was all that was holding Harriet in. They normally remove the suture at 37wks - just in the delivery suite whilst you are monitored in case you go into labour. Harriet however had different ideas and decided to come at 36wks so I had to race to the hospital to have the suture removed in case I tore. Now it did hurt being removed - not done with any painkillers and of course like any stitches in your body, your skin starts to grow over it so it did hurt - however maybe the fact that I was also experiencing contractions led me to think that it hurt more then normal. I am expecting that this baby will also require a cerclage - more then likely sometime in November, from my discussions with my OB.
Hi Twitch - yep had a cerclage with Harriet. With our first baby we lost at 19wk we were overseas and my waters broke. Because I hadn't been to see an OB they didn't really know what had happened. I had complained to my sister about feeling really heavy at 16wks but just laughed it off as all being in my head. When we fell with Harriet and went for our first OB visit at 10wks he said that all symptoms led him to believe I had an incompetent cervix. He recommended that at 14wks he place a cerclage (suture) around my cervix. It is only a day surgery procedure and you can either have it done under general or a spinal block. Because there is still a risk of losing the baby whilst it is being done, I chose a general. The happiest discussion I ever had was the nurse saying to me in recovery - "You were 14wks pregnant when you went into surgery, and you are still 14wks pregnant now!". I didn't experience any pain or bleeding which was nice. You have to be a little more careful whilst pregnant - they recommend not standing for long period of times, extreme care whilst having sex, no hot hot baths and minimal nipple stimulation (sorry probably TMI LOL) - anything that can lead you into early contractions. When they did my ultrasound at 20wks my cervix had already started to funnel and shorten, by the time I had my 28wk ultrasound the stitch was all that was holding Harriet in. They normally remove the suture at 37wks - just in the delivery suite whilst you are monitored in case you go into labour. Harriet however had different ideas and decided to come at 36wks so I had to race to the hospital to have the suture removed in case I tore. Now it did hurt being removed - not done with any painkillers and of course like any stitches in your body, your skin starts to grow over it so it did hurt - however maybe the fact that I was also experiencing contractions led me to think that it hurt more then normal. I am expecting that this baby will also require a cerclage - more then likely sometime in November, from my discussions with my OB.