cerclages

[mommy2two babes]

Just wondering if anyone here has had any experience or knowledge of anyone havign multiple cervical cerclages. I have had 2 so far for incompetent cervix and am wondering if there are additional risks the more you have ( scaring on the cervix) Also just for curiosity sake has anyone heard of someone who was slightly shortened at 20 weeks nowt going on to deliver early without a cerclage? I had the cerclage out at 37 weeks both times and did not go into labor until 40w 6d and 39w 4d. Not that that would neccecarily be a risk to take but just wondering. I am slightly concerned with a number of future cerclages that I won't be able to continue to have the wonderful quick natural childbirth I love. My biggest fear is to wind up with a c-sec with a future pregnancy. I know one of the possible complications of a cerclage is not dialating properly in labor. How do you know when it is caused by the cerclage and when it is just normal
Thanks
Krista

[Finch]

You can feel scar tissue on the cervix when you do an exam. It's that scar tissue that can prevent some women from dilating. HOWEVER, some practitioners can break that scar tissue once the cervix gets thin enough, and dilation progresses quickly.

I have only had experience with one patient who had multiple cerclages, and her cervix was pretty torn and scarred. She had a c-section, BUT....that was because she pretty much demanded it. She was tired of being pregnant, got the cerclage removed, and then when she didn't *immediately* go into labor, she asked for a c-section and got it. . She is the ONLY cerclage patient I have ever had get a c-section for "failure to progress (that's what the docs called it officially)."

There are different types of cerclages, too. There is one most docs refer to as a "strap," which is just what it sounds like, a thick piece of material that wraps around the cervix to hold it shut, instead of a stitch through the cervix. You can ask your doc about using that instead if you are a good candidate for it, that might help minimize scarring and tearing.

It's a risk/benefit thing you have to weigh for yourself as to whether or not you get another cerclage. I will tell you that lots of women experience shortening of the cervix early on and go on to deliver full term, so yes, that is absolutely possible.