hi! I have 4 children. The first two are twins. I've had cerclages with all my pregnancies.
My first pregnancy was twins. I went in for a level 2 us at 18w, and they wouldn't let me off the table - I was admitted immediately - my cervix was <1 cm and was funneling. One of the water bags was visible. They needed to stabilize me before attempting an emergency cerclage. I spent the next 4.5 mos on my back (sides) getting up only to shower every other day or to pee. I ended up with an induction at 38.5w (wouldn't do that again - there was no reason to induce, other than the fact that my o.b. at the time would be present). Needless to say, the induction didn't work and I ended with a c.
My second pregnancy, I elected to have a cerclage at 15w. Cervix remained short (around the 2cm mark) but stable. No strict bedrest thankfully. (just an 8mm inoperable kidney stone. had lithotripsy 6w after DS was born.) Ds was born at 42w.
My third pregnancy, my cervix measured around 2cm at 12w, so we did a cerclage immediately. Around 32w the stitch gave way, but my cervix stayed stable. Delivered vba2c at 38w though I think the dating was off by 2 weeks as this was a surprise pregnancy.
With all my pregnancies, I had a perinatologist do cervical ultrasounds to measure the length and to check on the stitch. Visits were weekly, then every two weeks until around 34 weeks. With my second and third pregnancy, my primary prenatal care was with midwives, so they were in charge and very supportive, even though this was fairly new territory to them. Most cervix patients see o.b.'s or peri's as their primary prenatal care.
If you end up on strict bedrest as I was, check out sidelines.org for support - they have 'bedrest buddies' - trained moms who have been through almost an exact scenario as you - and they offer free support via email or phone. It was a tremendous help to me, and now I'm a volunteer for other moms.
btw - my friend had her baby 5 weeks early because she did not take bedrest seriously. 5 weeks isn't that big of a deal and fortunately here baby was fine - albeit tiny. My other friend had twins at 28w because she went undiagnosed. Scary.
People will laugh and say - how nice! I wish I could be on bedrest! and that's the most horrible thing anyone can say. Being on bedrest is not only miserable, but it takes away so much of a woman's life in efforts to save another. And it's emotionally awful being pg and on bedrest, as you can't enjoy the pregnancy in a 'normal' way, not to mention if you have other children to take care of! If you are on bedrest, please seek out support and know that so many others are with you and you're not alone at all.
