Please help .. Cervical cerclage

Have been told by my new ob who is a high risk specialist that i will be needing to have a cerclage down at 14 weeks, which is in another week, as i lost twins at 23 weeks a year ago. The ob has recommended it from what i explained to him as to what had happened in the lead up to the unfortunate loss of both my babies... However my ob who i felt did not stand up to the expectation i thought he would, who had managed the twin preg suggests tat i be regularly monitored with scans and see whether we need to put it in further down the pg..But am not sure whether that is a good idea, as the risks of (preterm labour, membrane rupture) become higher further into the pg...

Am feeling very nervous and scared and not sure whether it is the right thing to do, or to just wait and monitor me closely and see what happens..As my previous pregnancy was already a high risk pg due to it being twins ... Am very very confused.... I hope someone can help me.. As i dont know of anyone who has had it done and what their experience was like..


Was wondering if anyone has experienced having to have a stitch put in place ?? If so, at how many weeks did u have it done and when did they take it out ?? Also did it hurt when it was put in and are there any symptoms after its done ?? Wat was the end outcome ?? Did u aldo have to be on bed rest ?? Any advice, help, suggestions or opinions will be greatly appreciated...


sorry for the long post...

I have not had it done myself. but from what you have said, I would go with what your new ob has said and get it in sooner.

I am so sorry for the loss of your babies. i am a high risk preg too after pre-term labour with DS plus lots of issues with his heart and other preg complications.

Have you asked your new OB about monitoring before deciding to go for the stitch? I am sure you could ring for a discussion on this rather than waiting for an appointment. It would worry you so much if you went ahead and were not sure it was the right thing to do.

Good luck with your decision.

I'm so sorry for your loss, and your current anxiety. It must be very distressing for you.

THere are risks with cerclage as well (only what I have read, I have never had it done myself, as my losses were all early). It may be that some OB's take a wait and see approach because of that. I'd talk this over with your new OB, ask him/her what the risks of infection and triggering a miscarriage are with the cerclage, and balance that up against the risks of premature dilation.

All the best.

This was a decision put to me after my waters prem broke on me at 17 weeks with my first pregnancy. My second preg was monitored with weekly scans and bam after having a scan done at 20 weeks on the Monday by the Tuesday night I was standing in amniotic fluid again and although I never went straight into labour that happened weeks after spending time with my head to floor and my feet to the ceiling..I was losing a battle of trying to keep my baby inside me and that risk of infection was higher than any stitch.
As you know the risk of twins and cervix issues as the weight of the baby on the cervix is so more than a singleton.
If you have been told by a high risk specialist that it needs to be done and there are other contributing factors (often IC is associated with no no painful dilation pain ) I would seriously consider it. There is risk with surgery of this type but done at 13 weeks with no bulging membranes it is highly sucessful. Compared this to an emergency situation where infection often creeps in as the membranes that bulging.
I had mine done at 13 weeks and never had any problems with shortening or infection.
My stitch was taken out at 37 weeks, DD was 8pound 8 so she put some weight on that stitch.
Do your homework make sure you are happy with the doctor( often specialist with multiple preg perform these on a weekly basis and do them well) rather than your usual obst gyno's that may see one every few months.
Good Luck

* There has been a few women on here that have had this procedure done recently

I agree with Minky.

Its a tough call and one that no doubt I will have to make in the near future. There are risks no matter which way you go so ask yourself one question ....

How would you feel IF the same thing happened and you didn't get a suture?

I couldn't get one when I went into pretern labour with Nikita because I had buldging membranes but I did everything else possible to keep her inside. My ob would rather do the weekly monitoring and I will be seen by a high risk specialist so I will wait until I see the specialist and see what he suggests.

Personally I would rather the stitch then go through what I went through with Nikita, the risk factor versus preterm labour resulting in loss to me is worth it. There are many women in here who have had it done.

Go with your gut instinct whatever that tells you, there is a lot to be said for womens intuition and motherly instincts.

Nae x

Just wanted to say thank you for replying to my question.. Hubby and i have been doin our heads in with this, when ruling out the risks and etc, we feel that the stitch is the best thing to do, as i dont think we could handle goin thru another loss..Since changing my ob to Mark Umstad i feel very comfortable and confident with him and and he feels very confident that doin it early will have a very good prognosis.. Has anyone had Mark umstad as their Ob ?? So i guess i just have to be positive and take it easy..Will let u know i how go.. Fingers crossed.. Thanks again everyone for your help...

Just wanted to say thank you for replying to my question and sorry to all of you that have gone through such loss and miscarriages..

Hubby and i have been doin our heads in with this, when ruling out the risks and etc, we feel that the stitch is the best thing to do, as i dont think we could handle goin thru another loss..However, since changing my ob to Mark Umstad and the hospital to Francess Perry i feel very comfortable and confident that i am in good hands and he feels very confident that doin it early will have a very good prognosis.. So i guess i just have to be positive and take it easy..Will let u know i how go.. Fingers crossed.. Thanks again everyone for your help...

Has anyone had Mark umstad as their Ob ?? How did they find his care ?? Did u get to meet the other obs that cover him ?? Also did u meet up with the midwife / councellor in umstad rooms ??

NaeNae, Rommy'smummy and Minky it sure seems like u been on a rollercoster urself..Thanks for sharing ur story and showing how there is light at the end of the tunnel..Congrats on ur baby girl minky..Cant wait to hold my bundle of joy this year.. Am eagerly counting down the weeks..

i am the product of the stitch. my mother had 3 m/c and a 23weeker who did not survive before swapping dr's...9 months later she had my sister at 42weeks lol.... then me at 38weeks just hrs after the stitch was taken out!

her first dr just wanted to monitor mum closely...he new dr wanted her to get a baby!

so i guess im happy that it can be done... i am also lucky i didnt have the same troubles...

Mark did my stitch:dance: And then delievered my daughter
He changed my life, when other doctors danced around the subject he said..this is what you had and I can fix it.

Hi, I too am sorry for the loss of your twins, we lost our son in April last year at 23+5wks too. We went over and over what to do as well, my case wasn't a clear cut 'you have IC', as I had an infection as well, which came first who knows, and a full term birth previously (but dilated extremely quickly with a breech bub). I did go ahead with having the stitch done at 13+4wks, and have to say I am very glad I did, I haven't had any shortening so far, cervix has even gained approx 5mm since having it placed. It is hard to know what the right thing is, but going through another loss without trying everything was far too much for me to deal with. Good luck, are you pregnant yet, or TTC?

To cut things short as I cant type quick enough, I have had a cerclage, we lost our son @ 21 weeks and were pg 8 wks later with DD and were told that CC was a good options JIC. Had it put in @ 13+4 and had no probs. I still ended up having a pre term bub but it was totally unrelated to the CC.

Good luck with everything.

Sorry for the late reply..

Minky, its great to hear tat Mark delivered ur bundle of joy..Its really comforting to know how confident he is in his decisions unlike many docs, who like the wait and see approach, and then its too late...

hgirs, so sorry to hear about the loss of your son.. Its great to hear that everything is going well for u, after having the stitch put in... Yes, i am currenytly 16 weeks now and had the stitch put in at 14 weeks, due August 5..Things are going good, but still scared and worried.. Cant wait to hold a healthy, full term baby in my arms and hear its first screams..

Tiffany, so sorry to hear about the loss of ur son.. Congrats on the birth of ur daughter, its great to hear things went well with having the stitch done..

Thanks for all ur replies..

Hi. Mark Umstad delivered my daughter. After losing our first baby at 20 weeks, we changed to Mark and knew straight away he was the right ob for us. He was compassionate and understood our anxiety. He is also an excellent ob and highly skilled and I can not rave enough about him. I hope all goes well with your pregnancy. Take comfort in knowing you are in good hands with Mark.