New to the forum and Cervical Legth

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the forum and was hoping for some advice!
Expecting di/di boy/girl twins, due date Jan 28 2014.

I had my cervical length measured at my anatomy scan (done at 17+6) and it measured 3.0-3.3 cm. Recheck at 19+3 showed a decrease to 2.5-2.8 cm. My OB didn't say much but I asked if trying to stay off my feet and pelvic rest would be good and he said it couldn't hurt, with a recheck of the cervix on Tuesday (20 weeks). I am a really active person and have already scaled my exercise WAYY back since trying to get pregnancy (some infertility issues related to my over-exercising), but have been doing NOTHING this weekend and it is killing me! I really haven't been doing much during pregnancy so far, a few walks, 20-25 mins on the stationary bike a few times a week, light weights and yoga a few times a week - but have done nothing for the past 3 days.

I was hoping for some input from others about cervical length and activity - I'm so scared it will keep shortening! Does resting really make a difference? Is there anything else I can do? Can I do yoga/stretching/diastasis exercises? Or do I really have to do NOTHING? I'll know more on Tuesday and I'm going to ask my OB all these questions but was hoping for some more input from anyone who has been through this!

I'm really hoping that everything is ok on Tuesday - I want the next 4 months to be a happy time, not just super stressful!

Also - if anyone did have a short cervix, how long did you carry the babies? Is it still possible to make it to term?

Thanks!

 

Bed rest works!

With my twins I had a rescue cerclage (stitch in the cervix) put in at 22wks when my cervix had shortened to around 1.5. I was put on very strict hospital bed rest at that time and ended up staying on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. It did shorten more, but I made it to 36wks when they cut the stitch out. I had the babies 3 days later.

Good luck! And keep us posted!

 

So, currently there is no solid evidence to say either way whether or not bed rest actually prevents pre term birth. They have however seen some potentially negative side effects to its use. Review: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/14974024/

It would definitely be worth discussing with your doctor and also discussing alternatives with him (like the possibility of a cerclage). Ask about benefits. Ask about risks. Ask about alternatives. Ask about doing nothing. And then decide what you're most comfortable with.

 

I had cervical shortening and I delivered 5 days after I 'got up' at 37w5d. My docs were noncommital as well but I tried bed rest for 3 days and my cervix went from 1.5 then back up to 1.8 after some bedrest. So I laid down for 10 weeks. I like Rachel's advice to ask some more questions but for my body it certainly made a difference in a positive way.

 

They were worried about my cervix shortening and funneling, which can be worse than shortening. I also had lots of early contractions, and was put on pretty strict bed rest at 22 weeks. I delivered huge, perfectly healthy babies at 39 weeks and 1 day and had a vaginal delivery. I can't say, of course, whether the bed rest made a difference. But I know it made me FEEL better,Ike I was doing all I could, and that helped. It's impossible to get good studies on it, so see how you feel and talk a lot to your dr. Bed rest sucks, and I won't sugarcoat that, but it's truly a distant memory now. Hang in there!!!

 

Thanks everyone! My U/S yesterday showed a cervical length of 2.9-3.2 cm (at 20 weeks) - so my OB thinks it might have just been technical variation. He has told me to keep taking it easy for the next few weeks and is going to check again next week. He said there is some mucus in my cervix and so he wants to watch it a bit closer. Anyone have experience with this?
I'm so glad I can keep working and don't have to be horizontal all day! Do you think some short walks and a little stretching would be ok too?

 

I am 18+3 weeks pregnant with didi girls and at 17 weeks my cervix was measuring 2.8 cm. my dr said I can do normal activity and that they will check it at 20 week anatomy scan. Since I am ultrasound tech and can check it myself, I ask my co worker to check my cervix transvaginally a week afer and it was 2 cm. I freaked out and went to prenatal evalua center at my hospital I work at and they were no help. They said they cannot do much with twin pregnancies since there are no studies done and proved that progesterone, bed rest or other things work for twin pregnancy and short cervix.. They sent me home and said don't check your cervix anymore because there is nothing can be done. My hospital I work at is a very good hospital, it's in top 10 in the USA, and I always believed I am we'll taken care of there, but I did not trust them in that case. this was on friday. i was so upset and worried, i spent a weekend on strict bed rest. my husband has a high school friend who became an obgyn dr and works at local hospital and as far as we knew him, is a very good nice person and amazing doctor, so we contacted him and he wanted to see me on monday. We met on Monday and he said that there are options, we can try progesterone, we can put pessary in and later on we can do ffn test and if needed terbutaline etc. he ordered modified bed rest and sent me to MFM next day for official ultrasound. Next day my cervix was measured 2.9 cm after a weekend of strict bed rest, I was so happy. They said I don't need a pessary or progesterone yet and that they will check it in two weeks. So far I am on bed rest, however, I stand up to make a quick meal and feed my toddler, walk around the house, but mainly stay on my left side. Should I listened to the drs at other hospital, I don't know what would happened to me. It is better be safe that sorry and its good to know ou are closely watched and that your doctor cares about you and doing everything he or she can to help you to cook babies as long as possible.