Soft Cervix at 18 Weeks

I am 18 weeks along and recently placed on bedrest. Monday I went to the Womens Eval Unit at my hospital due cramping and spotting. The Dr. said that my ultra sound looked good (both babies) and they could not pinpoint the reason for the cramping/spotting. I had an appointment with my Dr. today and she placed me on bed rest due to my cervix being soft. I am curious, has this happened to anyone else and how alarmed should I be. I am hoping to make it to 37 weeks and am terrfied of them coming too early. Any advice/similar experiences would be helpful. (This is my first pregnancy)

 

The best advice I can give you is stay in bed. I was on strict bedrest from 24 weeks due to PTL. I was hospitslized 5 times due to labour starting up again, and I made it to 37 weeks. It well be hard I am not going to lie, but you can do it! Message me anytime if you need to talk.

 

Hi, I started bed rest at 23 weeks, 6 days. I almost delivered on that day, but they were able to stop my contractions. I had a soft and short cervix and was dilated a small amount. I was on strict bed rest at home for the duration. I went in and out of the hospital probably 5 times to control the contractions. I finally made it to 36 weeks. It was pretty difficult emotionally and left me physically drained. But I was so fortunate to hang on for so long.

-Do you have a maternal fetal medicine specialist or perinatologist...a doctor for high risk pregnancies? If not, I would ask for one.
-Have they discussed a cerclage for your situation (where they stitch the cervix closed?).
hang in there, okay?

 

I just started seeing a Perinatologist when I went to the hospital. My Dr. did say that the cerclage is something that might happend down the road. She said my cervix is still long like it is suppose to be but soft. She said that I was not dilated but I could dialate and not know it. She is suppose to call me on Monday to see if I should continue bedrest. My problem is everyone keeps asking me how I feel, I dont know what is normal and what is not normal since this is my first pregnancy. What did your contractions feel like?

 

I started feeling some tightening in my lower abdomen (between the belly button and pelvis). Sort of like a gently muscle cramp across the width of the abdomen, or just a general feeling of tightness that went away after a few minutes. I had never been pregnant before, so I had no idea what was happening. I asked some women at work. They said it was completely normal to have braxton hicks contractions. I guess that's true, but in my case my cervix was changing. I also felt 'funny' a few times. I saw a few stars and felt a bit dizzy. I just thought it was normal fatigue from a twin pregnancy and working full time. I had a perinatologist appointment that week, and she found out my cervix had dropped suddenly. The good news is that bed rest helped my situation. My cervix went from 6 mm up to 1.5 cm for the rest of the pregnancy. That's still really short, but it was enough to keep the twins inside.

I think it's really good that your cervix is still long and you don't have dilation. It's great you have a perinatologist. The transvaginal ultrasound will show any changes. Hopefully, you won't have any more surprise changes in your cervix.

I hope you can take it easy the rest of your pregnancy. It's a short time in our life span, but so worth keeping them in as long as possible. take care!
Beth