The Diary of Wimpy Cervix

The good news: At 29 weeks, our girls looked great. The bad news: My cervix measured at 1.8 cm (a healthy cervix is 4cm+). My sonogram technician called it “a wimpy cervix.”

Well my wimpy cervix was causing around 6 contractions an hour. So, unsurprisingly, I got another wheel chair ride to be admitted to labor & delivery for IV fluids and continued monitoring. It took an overnight hospital stay, Indocin treatment, and 2 rounds of Terbutaline shots to calm my contractions. Thankfully, we didn’t have to whip out the big guns, the mag treatment (magnesium sulfate).

Strict Bed Rest, Again. My doc sent me home, back to strict bed rest with at-home monitoring. That means I have to recline less than 45 degrees to relieve the pressure of gravity on my cervix. I’m only allowed to get up to use the restroom, take a quick shower, and sit up for meals.

Home Uterine Activity Monitoring (HUAC). My doc prescribed OB Solutions to monitor my contractions from home. An OB nurse came to my house to set me up with a uterine activity monitor which monitors my contractions like they would at the hospital. The monitor helps distinguish between painful prelabor contractions and harmless tightening (Braxton Hicks). So far, it’s been great, I hook up twice a day for an hour session, then send my results in. A labor & delivery nurse calls me at least twice a day to pour over the data and is on call 24/7 for me. They keep a close eye on me, tell me to re-hydrate (prevents contractions), or go the hospital if contractions exceed a certain level. I feel better because I can hook up anytime I feel the need.

More Good News. My wimpy cervix it is not dilated or funneled. Meaning, I have not actually gone into labor. On the other hand, only a 1.8 cm plug is holding these babies in my belly. So long as we can keep that steady, we are good to keep these girls in the oven for a few more weeks.

Gestational Diabetes. Other good news, I am able to control my blood sugar just through my diet alone. Phew, no need for insulin. I’m doing so well that my OB has dropped the number of times I have to stick my finger to check my blood sugar. Woohoo!

57 days ago I was put on bed rest. Twins’ gestational age: 29 weeks, 3 days

9 thoughts on “The Diary of Wimpy Cervix”

Hang in there Maya! Hope your dr. appt today goes well!

I’m in (almost) the same boat! I’ve been in the hospital for 23 days now with a possible 90-something more. I came in just after 23 weeks and on Thursday, I’ll be 27 weeks. When I came in, I had 2.2 cm of cervix, and by the next morning, it was down to 0.3 cm. The saving grace? Somehow I had a negative fFN test. That being said, I got the steroid shots (and two weeks later a rescue dose) and a 24-hr stint of mag sulfate. I wasn’t having contractions; however, studies have shown that if you go into preterm labor, the mag sulfate drip reduces the chances of cerebral palsy. I’m hoping to get to at least 32 weeks…but I flat out told the doctor yesterday that if I get to 34 and am still here, I’ll be packing my stuff and going home. Hospital bed rest SUCKS! The worst thing is, most of my friends seem to think it’s some sort of vacation that I’ll be missing after the baby is born. That’s what my blog today is about, in fact LOL!

I hope everything goes well with you! At least you don’t have funneling! I have a HUGE funnel that the sac is bulging into. I have no idea how I’m even still pregnant lol!

Maya says:

January 4, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Hi Lauren! Congratulations, on going home! Hope you’ll be so much more relaxed, and I hope it will lessens your contractions. Wow, 0.3 cm cervix, well God willing, you can make it. My friend was close to zero from 24 weeks, and she made it 35 weeks, got taken off of bed rest, then had 2 healthy girls at 36 weeks!

I had my babies at 34 weeks this Dec. 13, which made it 3 months and 1 day of bed rest! After a c-section, my body went through hell trying to recover. Three weeks later, including 2 weeks of physical therapy, to regain muscle strength from bed rest, I am just not able to be myself. The best part, was the babies came home Christmas Eve. I’ll be watching for your updates.

Maya