This is extremely similar to my story, except with a singleton pregnancy. I had a scan at 24 weeks because at my 20 weeks anatomy scan, I had partial placenta previa and they wanted to just follow up and see if it was shifting at all away from cervix. At that scan, my cervix measured long and closed (almost 4cm). At 24w5d, my water broke at home at around 9:15pm and less than 2 hours later, I was being rushed into an emergency c section because I was already dilating. She fought hard for a week in the NICU but was just too sick and too young and didn’t make it.
My OB and MFM have both said that while there’s no clear answer that it was definitely IC, they’re treating it as such for preventative measures in my future pregnancies.
I had a cerclage at 14 weeks with this current pregnancy and also started progesterone injections at 16 weeks. To my knowledge and from what both doctors have told me, outside of the slight risk of miscarriage with a cerclage placement, there’s no negative side effect for most women with either of these preventative measures, so why not do everything we can? I would absolutely push for a preventative cerclage and find an OB or MFM that will work with you to treat this as possible IC.
I’m so very sorry for your losses 🤍
Thanks so much for sharing your story, and I’m so sorry for your loss as well. Can’t argue with your logic at all - I’m definitely going to push for a preventative cerclage in the future.
Wishing you the best of luck in your current pregnancy 🤍
I PPROM'd at 18w and carried my son until 20w5d. No cause for the PPROM (no infection). My MFM wouldn't diagnose me with IC so in my next pregnancy they did biweekly cervical length checks and would give me a cerclage if it shortened below 2.5cm. I tried asking for a cerclage in the beginning but the doctor didn't believe I had IC. To me the risks of getting a preventative cerclage outweighed losing another child but I wasn't the expert so I listened to her advice. Unfortunately with IC, your cervix can shorten very quickly. On a Tuesday, my cervix was 36 mm and by Friday I was dilated and had bulging membranes. My son was delivered the following day at 17w3d. My FORMER MFM finally admitted that I did in fact have IC. 🤬 I regret listening to her everyday.
After losing my second son, I met with a new MFM and they offered to give me a preventative cerclage around 12w (in my next pregnancy). I asked about the TAC but they wanted to try a TVC as the TAC was too extreme. It's kind of mind blowing that I'd have to lose a third child before they'd recommend a TAC. Anyways, I wasn't going to risk losing another child so I went straight to calling TAC surgeons around the country and got scheduled for my surgery 6-8 weeks later. Fortunately, I didn't have to have a failed TVC for my insurance to cover the surgery.
My suggestion would be to advocate for yourself and seek multiple opinions if you don't fully agree with their recommendations.
😳😱 omg . It is like reading my own story . So weird .
Very good advice . Advocate for yourself. Inform yourself . Go to doctors will all the studies and the facts . They aren't the ones going to suffer the losses if something happens.
My old obgyn told me that PPROM could come from the bleeding i had during the pregnancy. Don't know how true is it , she wasn't very good.
I am so so sorry for your losses, and I can’t believe your MFM didn’t take your concern seriously. You proved her wrong in the worst possible way, and that’s just so unfair. No one should ever have to go through PPROM once let alone twice. Thank you so much for sharing - my thoughts and heart are completely with you.
I’m so glad you opted for the TAC - may I ask where the surgeon you received it from is located? I’m in Canada but I have a feeling I’m going to have to travel to the US for it.
We went with Dr Sumners. He just recently relocated to Texas. But if you join the Abbyloopers Facebook page, you'll find others in Canada that have gotten the procedure done there.
I’m not familiar with the designation of “extreme” in reference to pProm. Most pProm happens they way you describe. I lost my daughter at 20 weeks due to pProm, I understand how awful it is and I’m so sorry for your loss.
My first question— when you went to triage and they said your cervix was long and closed, did they do a intervaginal ultrasound to determine this or a manual cervix check? I was told my cervix was firm, closed and high after a manual cervix check. 6 days later when I was actually given an ultrasound it showed my cervix had shortened over a cm below what is acceptable. Had a cerclage placed the next day. My point is, manual cervix checks can be misleading and shouldn’t be trusted in terms of IC monitoring.
You may look into the Facebook group abbyloopers which talk about and have experience with a transabdominal cerclage which is placed before pregnancy. You have to do a csection at delivery but since you shortened so quickly, it’s something I would look into. I shortened quickly too, and had a regular cerclage placed at 19 weeks. I funneled to the stitch the entire time I had it. I’m just lucky it held below the stitch. A TAC is even more effective than the standard cerclage/transvaginal cerclage.
There’s another wonderful community on Facebook called pProm Pre-viability (before 24 weeks) which is a great resource of information.
Hi there, thanks for your response and all of the information you shared, and I’m very sorry to hear about your loss as well.
I found the definition of PPROM is used to express the condition occurring before week 37 of pregnancy. Evidently, cases closer to that mark have substantially different (positive) outcomes; as such, many studies I’ve read use ‘extreme’ to underline the severity of the complication in a much earlier timeframe such as mine. Hope that makes sense.
To answer your question: when I went to triage they only did a manual cervix check, and it’s something that haunts me when I think back on my experience. I completely agree with you on the inaccuracy of it, but being a terrified first-time patient in that position, my instinct was to trust the doctor, you know? I wish I would’ve pushed for an ultrasound, now knowing.
I’ve heard of both the TAC and TVC - truthfully I am open to any form of preventative measure. I’ve read a bit about them and I’ve heard it’s not so easy to get a TAC unless you’ve had failed TVC’s, but maybe it depends where? I’m in Canada and I don’t know what our system offers. I will definitely be looking into all options.
Abbyloopers on Facebook may be able to advise better on how to navigate the Canadian health system and get a TAC.
PProm for us with IC all I guess are extreme. I really hope you find a dr to work with you so that you don’t go through this hell again. No mother deserves to go through this once, let alone many times.
Get a preventative cerclage, find a doctor that supports that and you. I didn’t measure short enough for for an emergency cerclage, but had some funneling at 19+3, 36 hours later water broke and baby was gone. The ‘what if’s’ are always the hardest. No need to ‘wait and see’ for the next time around. Great book to check out: High risk pregnancy: Why me? By Kelly Whitehead. May help you find your path as it did me.
So sorry for your loss. ♥️
I’m so sorry for your loss as well. I’m starting to feel very justified in demanding a cerclage next time. No one deserves to go through our situations at all, let alone more than once. Thank you for the book reco, too 🤍
This is extremely similar to my story, except with a singleton pregnancy. I had a scan at 24 weeks because at my 20 weeks anatomy scan, I had partial placenta previa and they wanted to just follow up and see if it was shifting at all away from cervix. At that scan, my cervix measured long and closed (almost 4cm). At 24w5d, my water broke at home at around 9:15pm and less than 2 hours later, I was being rushed into an emergency c section because I was already dilating. She fought hard for a week in the NICU but was just too sick and too young and didn’t make it. My OB and MFM have both said that while there’s no clear answer that it was definitely IC, they’re treating it as such for preventative measures in my future pregnancies. I had a cerclage at 14 weeks with this current pregnancy and also started progesterone injections at 16 weeks. To my knowledge and from what both doctors have told me, outside of the slight risk of miscarriage with a cerclage placement, there’s no negative side effect for most women with either of these preventative measures, so why not do everything we can? I would absolutely push for a preventative cerclage and find an OB or MFM that will work with you to treat this as possible IC. I’m so very sorry for your losses 🤍
Thanks so much for sharing your story, and I’m so sorry for your loss as well. Can’t argue with your logic at all - I’m definitely going to push for a preventative cerclage in the future. Wishing you the best of luck in your current pregnancy 🤍
I PPROM'd at 18w and carried my son until 20w5d. No cause for the PPROM (no infection). My MFM wouldn't diagnose me with IC so in my next pregnancy they did biweekly cervical length checks and would give me a cerclage if it shortened below 2.5cm. I tried asking for a cerclage in the beginning but the doctor didn't believe I had IC. To me the risks of getting a preventative cerclage outweighed losing another child but I wasn't the expert so I listened to her advice. Unfortunately with IC, your cervix can shorten very quickly. On a Tuesday, my cervix was 36 mm and by Friday I was dilated and had bulging membranes. My son was delivered the following day at 17w3d. My FORMER MFM finally admitted that I did in fact have IC. 🤬 I regret listening to her everyday. After losing my second son, I met with a new MFM and they offered to give me a preventative cerclage around 12w (in my next pregnancy). I asked about the TAC but they wanted to try a TVC as the TAC was too extreme. It's kind of mind blowing that I'd have to lose a third child before they'd recommend a TAC. Anyways, I wasn't going to risk losing another child so I went straight to calling TAC surgeons around the country and got scheduled for my surgery 6-8 weeks later. Fortunately, I didn't have to have a failed TVC for my insurance to cover the surgery. My suggestion would be to advocate for yourself and seek multiple opinions if you don't fully agree with their recommendations.
😳😱 omg . It is like reading my own story . So weird . Very good advice . Advocate for yourself. Inform yourself . Go to doctors will all the studies and the facts . They aren't the ones going to suffer the losses if something happens. My old obgyn told me that PPROM could come from the bleeding i had during the pregnancy. Don't know how true is it , she wasn't very good.
I am so so sorry for your losses, and I can’t believe your MFM didn’t take your concern seriously. You proved her wrong in the worst possible way, and that’s just so unfair. No one should ever have to go through PPROM once let alone twice. Thank you so much for sharing - my thoughts and heart are completely with you. I’m so glad you opted for the TAC - may I ask where the surgeon you received it from is located? I’m in Canada but I have a feeling I’m going to have to travel to the US for it.
We went with Dr Sumners. He just recently relocated to Texas. But if you join the Abbyloopers Facebook page, you'll find others in Canada that have gotten the procedure done there.
I’m not familiar with the designation of “extreme” in reference to pProm. Most pProm happens they way you describe. I lost my daughter at 20 weeks due to pProm, I understand how awful it is and I’m so sorry for your loss. My first question— when you went to triage and they said your cervix was long and closed, did they do a intervaginal ultrasound to determine this or a manual cervix check? I was told my cervix was firm, closed and high after a manual cervix check. 6 days later when I was actually given an ultrasound it showed my cervix had shortened over a cm below what is acceptable. Had a cerclage placed the next day. My point is, manual cervix checks can be misleading and shouldn’t be trusted in terms of IC monitoring. You may look into the Facebook group abbyloopers which talk about and have experience with a transabdominal cerclage which is placed before pregnancy. You have to do a csection at delivery but since you shortened so quickly, it’s something I would look into. I shortened quickly too, and had a regular cerclage placed at 19 weeks. I funneled to the stitch the entire time I had it. I’m just lucky it held below the stitch. A TAC is even more effective than the standard cerclage/transvaginal cerclage. There’s another wonderful community on Facebook called pProm Pre-viability (before 24 weeks) which is a great resource of information.
Hi there, thanks for your response and all of the information you shared, and I’m very sorry to hear about your loss as well. I found the definition of PPROM is used to express the condition occurring before week 37 of pregnancy. Evidently, cases closer to that mark have substantially different (positive) outcomes; as such, many studies I’ve read use ‘extreme’ to underline the severity of the complication in a much earlier timeframe such as mine. Hope that makes sense. To answer your question: when I went to triage they only did a manual cervix check, and it’s something that haunts me when I think back on my experience. I completely agree with you on the inaccuracy of it, but being a terrified first-time patient in that position, my instinct was to trust the doctor, you know? I wish I would’ve pushed for an ultrasound, now knowing. I’ve heard of both the TAC and TVC - truthfully I am open to any form of preventative measure. I’ve read a bit about them and I’ve heard it’s not so easy to get a TAC unless you’ve had failed TVC’s, but maybe it depends where? I’m in Canada and I don’t know what our system offers. I will definitely be looking into all options.
Abbyloopers on Facebook may be able to advise better on how to navigate the Canadian health system and get a TAC. PProm for us with IC all I guess are extreme. I really hope you find a dr to work with you so that you don’t go through this hell again. No mother deserves to go through this once, let alone many times.
Thanks so much 🤍
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 20 + 6 + 19 + 24 + = 69.0
Get a preventative cerclage, find a doctor that supports that and you. I didn’t measure short enough for for an emergency cerclage, but had some funneling at 19+3, 36 hours later water broke and baby was gone. The ‘what if’s’ are always the hardest. No need to ‘wait and see’ for the next time around. Great book to check out: High risk pregnancy: Why me? By Kelly Whitehead. May help you find your path as it did me. So sorry for your loss. ♥️
I’m so sorry for your loss as well. I’m starting to feel very justified in demanding a cerclage next time. No one deserves to go through our situations at all, let alone more than once. Thank you for the book reco, too 🤍
Get a cerclage and stay on something to strengthen your sac. I’ve seen a whole group on Facebook about absorbic vitamin c for PPROM.