Lost our Baby Girl 22w 6d - Incompetent Cervix

Hi,
I have had three cerclages. The first one was very risky, but we had no choice really. I was 22 1/2 weeks along with twins, dialated(by ultrasound four centameters, and by vaginal check 6 centimeters), and the bag of waters was funneling into my cervix. They told me that if my contractions stopped by morning that they would try to put a cerclage in to save the pregnancy. Well, morning came and so I had the surgery done. The perinatoligist said he has never done a surgery like that. An intern actually had to push the bag of waters up into my cervix as the doctor pulled the stich tight. They were all holding their breaths...they thought the bag would surly rupture. I remained at the hospital unable to get up and laying upside down practically untill at almost 25 weeks when an infection forced them to deliver the twins. That cerclage was very tramatic and painful. We ended up loosing one of the twins. The second one we had done at 14 weeks. I became unnumb during the surgery and an intern ripped me, then I got a spinal headache. yuck!! I remained on bedrest almost my whole preganncy and had to use a wheel chair. It was very painful to take out, but I made it to term and delivered a healthy baby. The third time, my docor placed the cerclage in at 12 weeks before my cervix changed at all. They put me out totally instead of using a spinal block. I woke up and I felt great!!! It was wonderful. I was walking and they didn't rip me! My docter even allowed me to go watch the nutcracker ballet the next night provided I rest all day. I wasn't on any bedrest and the baby was carried to term. The best part was it didn't hurt at all when the cerclage was removed. so, as you can see getting a cerclage is well worth it if it allows your body to carry children. We all would go through any amount of pain or discomfort for our children. I knew a lady who had five children by getting cerclages after experiencing some losses first.
I am deeply sorry about the loss of your sweet baby. It is so painful to loose a child. My aunt also lost one at around 23 weeks. She lived for about three hours. and as I mentioned above, I also lost one of my sons. I truly am sorry. I hope some of my experiences with cerclages have helped answer soem quections you may have had. I am sure that with time and a good doctor you will have another sweet baby to hold in your arms while little Kailey looks down at you from above. Take care,
Tiffany

Leslie I am truly sorry for the loss of your daughter Kailey. It is very overwhelming and the emotions and feelings you have are all the stages you need to travel through in order to begin to heal. These are the beginning stages of grief. Please know that as you travel this journey you are not alone. We at SHARE are here for you-I am here for you if you ever need someone to talk to.
I can relate to your story. In December 2005 we went through the same thing losing our daughter Gabrielle Lynn at 22 weeks gestation. I have also been diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. My husband and I were devastated over the loss of our daughter. We were told that our next pregnancy we would need to have a cerclage placed to keep the cervix from prematurely opening. Three months later I found out I was pregnant again, on Mothers day. At 13 weeks a cerclage was placed with no complications. I was given a spinal block to numb me from the waist down. I found that to be the most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure.
The pregnancy continued without any problems till my 19th week and I noticed wetness when I went to use the bathroom. I called my doctor and he told me to come in and get checked.
During an internal exam we found that the sac was once again protruding through the cerclage and our daughter Abigail Marie was born the next evening and passed away 3 1/2 hours later.

I do not want you to feel discouraged from my story. There are many people that were successful and had full term pregnancies with this procedure. Unfortunately I was not one of them.

I am sure that your doctors have already advised you that the cerclage is not 100 percent effective. But what in life is? Nothing is 100 percent. You have to take chances, and this is a really big chance I know.
I do hope you are doing well and if at any time you have any questions or need someone to talk to I am here. Do not hesitate.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

HUGS
Colleen
Mom to one earth angel
Gradon McKenzie age 7
Two heavenly angels
Gabrielle Lynn & Abigail Marie

I am soo very sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter. I was 25 1/2 weeks pregnant when I delivered my boy, Erik. At 23 weeks was when I had a cerclage put in. Normally you would get one put in as early as 12 weeks but seeing as though this was my first pregnancy I had no history of this and my doctor just barely caught my thinning cervix in time. However cerclages can fall out depending on how weak your cervix is. My cerclage fell out a week before I had Erik while I was in the hospital on bed rest for 2 weeks.

Please don't be discouraged about having another baby because now that your doctor has a history on you with your situation the cerclage can now be put in way sooner however you may be put on bed rest for a long time or you may not depending on how your cervix takes to the cerclage. I promise I will pray for you and again I am soo very sorry for the loss of your baby girl.

First, let me tell you how sorry I am that you lost your beautiful baby. I lost my secon son to IC at 22wk 5 days. I started spotting, my water was leaking and was having contractions. Despiste the doc's best efforts Christopher was born the follwing day in Dec 2004.

It took a long time for me to get the courage to try again and as happy as I was to be pregnant, I was also terrified of having to go through another loss. I had switched ob's and the plan was to get a preventative cerclage placed b/w 12 & 14 weeks. (A preventative cerclage is placed before 16 weeks before problems arise, anything after that is considered a "rescue cerclage")

At any rate, my cerclage was placed at 13 weeks (I was given a spinal block so I was awake during the procedure which was much better/easier & quicker than I could hae ever imagined) I was put on 2 weeks of bedrest and then allowed back to work. 10 days after my return to work my cervix began to shorten (I was 16 wks at this point) and I was placed back on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy.

I had weekly vaginal u/s to measure my cervix and at 24 weeks I had funnelled down to my cerclage (the stitch). This means that my cervix was opening up from the inside and the bag of water was resting on my stitch. I was also having contractions, but not feeling them. I was sent to the hospital and spent 6 weeks there being monitored, and taking meds to stop my pre-term labor, etc. I was allowed to come home at 30 weeks and spent another 6 weeks at home on bedrest only being allowed up to use the bathroom & to shower every 2 or 3 days.

My beautiful baby boy was born at 36 weeks via a scheduled c-section and is now 12 weeks old.
Several of the girls here have had successful pregnancies with the help of a cerclage. Some of us were on complete bed rest, some on modified bedrest and some that required no bed rest at all. We all agree though, that our babies would not be here today without the help of a cerclage.

There is a thread called "honest feedback and the truth about cerclages" that you should search for. There is a ton of great information on that thread.

I also received weekly injenction of P-17 to help reduce the chance of pre-term labor. It may be something else to discuss with your doctor to help you manage your next pg.

There is a website that I found after the loss of my son called www.silentgrief.com which was a lifesaver for me. Everyone there has unfortunately lost a child and can relate to your feelings, fears, stumbling blocks etc. Not that this website isn't great as well!! I just feel you can never have too many resources!

I am here if to talk/chat - feel free to email me.
In time, peace will be restorted to your heart. You will always miss & love your baby girl, but do know that the gut wrenching pain will ease and you will find your smile again.

Love & Peace - sally

Leslie,
I am so very sorry to hear about the loss of your sweet girl. What a scary situation for you having to call an ambulance then be airlifted to another hospital. I am *so* happy to hear that you and your husband are leaning on each other and have a good relationship. My husband and I have never been closer after all of the trauma we went through in my pregnancy/delivery of my triplet boys.

I had three cerclages during my pregnancy - one at about 12 weeks, one at about 18 and one after they delivered my first son (bought the other two 18 more days) due to an incompetent cervix. The procedure is relatively painless, the first two were done under spinal anesthesia. (the third was done under general but only b/c they were delivering the baby, etc.). They certainly saved my pregnancy and, while I still didn't carry that far, most of that was likely due to the fact that I had three babies and my uterus was "irritated" because of that and I did have some PTL causing the cervix to dilate.

I would certainly talk to your doctor *before* you get pregnant. Mine told me that he would like to put in an abdominal cerclage prior to any subsequent pregnancies (which we've decided we will NOT have more children but my dr and I did discuss it at my annual exam) and then I would delivery by c-section. He said by going in abdominally he can put the stitch where it needs to be, at the top of the cervix, and allow it to really do it's job. I am, of course, no doctor so talk to yours and I don't even know if this would be an option for you but you could ask about it!

There are quite a few women here who have had subsequent pregnancies after their preemies (not all born prematurely because of IC but some were). Check out the Parent to Parent folder for some discussions on this. There is a topic called Pregnant? On bedrest? Trying again? which may be of some help and support to you.

Best of luck to you and your husband and your family.

Kara

I agree with everything everyone has said about the cerclage although I didn't know that you had to have it between 12-14 wks I didn't receive mine until 20wks. And I wasn't told of any danger or that it was an emergency I know I needed but I was going to the doctor regularly but due to the fact that I have had a preemie before I did so much research that I almost became obsessed and when I became pregnant again and had my first visit with the OBGYN I told him everything that happened in my last pregnancy and what could he do for me this pregnancy that could help prevent any of this, he told me that around my 16th week I would begin to see a perinotologist a special high-risk pregnancy doctor I thought that was great without the close monitoring of my high risk doctors they wouldn't have never seen my cervix shortening in time to do the cerclage. I had contractions from 4 months all the way until I delivered at 37 weeks it may not be 40 but 37 is full term and that was all I needed I prayed and did everything I had to I was on complete bed rest I couldn't bathe myself I was in and out of the hospital the entire 9 months I took every type of contraction medicine Mag,procardia,I cant remember the others but my contractions never stopped without that cerclage I know Im positive I wouldn't have made it that far. I received steroid shots and I also received the 17-P shot of progesterone I believe this was great too. But one thing that worries me for the future is the fact that they are the professionals they are the doctors but I had to suggest or ask about alot of the procedures and medications that I read about to help control preterm labor and that wasn't cool but I am thankful that I took the inititive to learn about those things instead of hoping preterm labor wouldn't happen again. I had no clue anything was wrong with my cervix I just knew that one of the risk factors for having another preemie was if you had one before and I got on the ball researching. So I guess its safe to say if you are reading this that you are one of the ones who are reading everything they can find on this issue and everything related to preterm labor. None of was easy but in the end I had my baby and brought her home in 2 days instead of 2 months or longer. I love my preemie whose now 6 yrs. old and doing great no health problems Thank God but I just wasn't mentally capable to go through that experiencec again maybe I was but my fiance had never ever experienced anything of that nature and I tend to try to HELP to much and I needed all of my strength for me and my baby. God Bless!

Hello! I am too truly sorry to hear of the loss of your precious daughter. I hope that you find peace in your life ... It truly is a wonderful thing having a support team around you. I too lost a baby at 22 weeks, a little boy named Michael (April 2005) due to an incompetant cervix. I showed at the hospital with bleeding and it took me three days to deliver him. I then got pregnant again in August 05 and was due on May 21st of 2006. I received my cerclage at 13 weeks and it was painless procedure and everything was fine until 18 weeks when my cervix funneled down to the stitch. I was placed on complete bedrest in the hospital in tranverse position until 32 weeks. Mia Rose was born at 33 weeks (4 lbs and 13 oz) and is a healthy 5 month old now. Thank God for the Cerclage !

Anything I can do to help you, Please let me know...

Peace and Love,
Kelly

Michael and Mia's mom

I am sory for the loss of yournprecious little one. I too know the pain of losing a child. I know that I have found peace in this site and I hope that you do too.

Hugs
Christen

Colleen,
Thank you so much for your story. I am so sorry you had to go through this awful experience twice. This has been very hard on me and my family, lots of emotions to deal with which I am sure you know all about. Yesterday was 3 weeks and I am doing better but I am still very sad and feeling discouraged about trying again. Will you try again or you have decided not to? If so, would you go with the cerclage again?

Leslie

Thank you so much for getting back with me, it is really good to hear from you. I know there is alot of emotions right now, but just take this process day by day. Allow yourself to heal before making any decisions.
When do you see your doctor again? Ask alot of questions, write them down if you need to.

My husband and I wanted to get pregnant right away after losing our first daughter Gabrielle but now that I look back, the next pregnancy with our Abigail was *very* stressful.
I am not trying to discourage you, I am just telling you my personal feelings. Give yourself time. This is a difficult decision that only you and your husband can make and I wish you the best what ever you decide.
As for us trying again, I just don't know. There are still *so* many questions left unanswered, and I do not have alot of faith in the cerclage.
I do know that there are other types of cerclages that can be used the next time, *if* there is a next time. I just do not know what to do from this point, I am pretty confused.
We go back for my follow up appt with my OB on Monday, maybe we will know more then. I am not going to get my hopes up though.
Hope you are taking it easy and doing ok. I am here if you need me.
Sending healing thoughts your way.

HUGS,
Colleen

Sally,

Thank you for your story. I was very surprised to see all of the responses here and it will take me some time to respond with questions. I am happy that the cerclage worked for you. I am very scared about the whole thing. We have a appointment with a High Risk Doc October 4th to discuss everything. We don't seem to have any problems getting pregnant as we have succeeded on the first time each of our 3 pregnancies. I did go in for my 2 week check up with my regular OB, she said everything looked good. She recommended we do not try for 6 months. Is that long? After my miscarriages they told me to wait one cycle. I assume my body must heal a bit more since I was further along however 6 months seemed very long to me. How long did you wait? Also, I was unable to find the thread you mentioned "honest feedback and the truth about cerclages".

Anyway, both my husband and I are doing better emotionally. It's funny how your normal life just takes over again. Kailey was supposed to be born on December 15th so I do get sad as I see the stores setting up Christmas stuff already. Thank you for your response and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Leslie

Colleen,
I have lots of questions for the doctor and believe me I have been writing them down. I have an appointment with the high risk doctor who delivered Kailey on October 4th. He was called in on my case when I was transferred from the first hospital. I liked him, he cut to the chase and told us the facts. We had been tossed back and forth between doctors at the first hospital as the shifts changed. My regular ob did not have privileges at the hospital the ambulance took me to so it all was all very confusing. This Doctor works with only high risk pregnancies and performs the cerclage procedure, he also has his own practice and works with the hospital that is equipped to handle premature babies in the case we were to have issues with future pregnancies.

I am still healing, however I feel like I have to get going on this again as part of me feels I have to succeed in knowing we are able to have a child. I will be 32 in December and feel very anxious, we had dreamed of having three children. We have had three pregnancies this being by far the most disappointing as we thought things were going so well and then a new problem comes about. I would be happy to just now we are able to have one healthy boy or girl at this point.

I can only imagine how very stressful it was after losing a baby and then becoming pregnant again. So much for joy, I personally can not see myself being excited again but I do not see that feeling going away by waiting longer either. How was your doctor appointment, was that this past Monday?

Leslie

I was pregnant with twins when at 15 weeks my doctor surgically inserted a cerclage. He told me while I was still on the operating table that I would be on strict bedrest until my babies were born. The cerclage was a success - the babies were still born early (at 30 weeks) but I know with all my heart that I would not have carried them that long had it not been for my doctor advising me of the cerclage.

I am so sorry for your lost I can not even imagine a pain as bad as that. I hope your next pregnancy is a success and you have a wonderful child to love and care for.

May God be with you--
Mom of Twins in KY

I have a four miscarriages before I actually carried a baby to full term. I was diagnosed with incompetent cervix. I had a cerclage placed at 14 weeks and carried my baby until 38 weeks 2 days. I was on complete bed rest but I made through it though. My baby weighed 8 lbs and 13 3/8 ounces and 19 inches long. The cerclage was cut out at 36 weeks. I actually wasn't going to go in labor when I did. the doctor induced my labor. Good luck to you next time. I am truly sorry about your loss but god will heal you and take care of you through this difficult time. It will not hurt to try again when you feel like you are ready.

I'm so sorry for your loss! I am still hurting from losing my first baby, Mary Catherine, over two and a half years ago. But a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

I had absolutely no idea that I would deliver prematurely... I was more worried about getting gestational diabetes and going overdue. Sigh. At 23 and a half weeks along, I had a sudden strange feeling that I couldn't control my bladder at all. I was told over the phone by my caregiver that this could be a normal baby position change. So we continued with our normal activity and suddenly delivered, painlessly, about 36 hours later. There was virtually no warning. In hindsight, the baby or bag had descended, causing that sensation.

With my next two pregnancies, I had preventative cerclages placed at 13 weeks, did no bedrest, and carried nine pound babies to the finish line. I was even lifting the first kiddo while pregnant with the second, even though my doctor definitely confirmed my cervix was soft and incompetent. Those sutures did their job for me. I went under general anesthesia for both, by preference, and it worked out fine. The removal was uncomfortable but an office visit procedure around 36 weeks for me. I carried three and a half or four weeks following the removal.

Best wishes for your future family. It really helps to take some time to grieve and gather your thoughts. Pregnancy hormones and the first year of grief are a bad combination, but I survived. A mother's work is very hard, whether our babies are with us or not. I wish you peace.

I am so sorry you had to go through that, I can't get over how similar our stories are. I lost my daughter at 20w 3 days after going to the bathroom and seeing blood.

I gave birth to my son Nikkos at 33 weeks in February and he's a strong, healthy boy. The only reason why he is here with me today is because of my cerclage that was put in at 12 weeks. I had a normal pregnancy up until about week 27 and then was put on bed rest, however this doesn't hold true for everyone with cerclages. Some women never go on bed rest and and have to have it snipped to even go into labor.

I wish you and your family all the best in the world. I hope you will join the Share blogs and keep us up to date if you do decide to try again. *Hugs*

I am so truly sorry for your loss. My husband and I lost our baby girl on Sept 10 at 17wks 4days; I'd had a cerclage put in on August 25. My loss was due to a placenta abrubtion and an infection that had nothing to do w/the cerclage. The cerclage could not have prevented our loss, but niether did it save my baby.

My dr has reccommended that we wait at least three months before we even decide if we want to try again. She said that healing emotionally is just as important, maybe more so in the case of infant loss, than healing physically. She also said that w/any further pregnancies we will visit a perinatologist for a complete work up and a pregnancy plan.
It was also mentioned that there is a permanent cerclage that is placed in the muscle of the cervix; it it left in forever unless I wish to have it removed. I'm not sure of anything else regarding this specific procedure, but you may want to ask.

I have found that keeping a blog has helped me tremendously through this difficult time. Also the other moms on Share - inc Colleen - have been a great support system for me. In addition to my husband and family, I believe this is the best group of people to have around me. Please continue to post and I wish you all the best in your healing process.

Prayers to your baby, mine and too many more,
Becky

On September 18th I woke up at 7 am with pains. I thought it was gas. Landon was my first child so I had never been through a pregnancy before. I tried to use the bathroom but I didn't feel any better so I went laid back down. At 9 am my boyfriend got up for work and I told him I had pains then all of a sudden I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. When I went to the bathroom my water broke, but there was alot of blood. I told him that there was blood and he said it is normal to have some blood.

This was not some blood though it was alot of blood. I called the doctor and at first they were going to bring me into the office but when i told them how much blood they said go to the emergency room. I knew something was wrong but my boyfriend was so very excited calling everyone on the way. I didn't want to scare him so I kept my concerns to myself.

When I got to the hospital they sent him to registration and took me to a room. they put the fetal heartbeat monitor on my stomach but I could not hear Landon's heartbeat. I was 36 weeks pregnant that day. After the doctor did the ultrasound because they did not hear the heartbeat the doctor told me that Landon was dead. My boyfriend walked in the room smiling so happy that the baby was coming and I had to tell him he was gone. 36 weeks how does this happen. Landon was born on September 19th. We held him and cried. He was so handsome, he looked just like his daddy.

On September 23rd we had to bury our baby Landon and it was the worst day of my life. The reality set in that day that this was real and not just a bad dream. Now I feel so scared to try again and think that god does not want me to have a baby. I wanted my little boy so much and now I feel so empty and sad. I just don't know how I am going to get through this.

The doctor said he thinks I had an abruption where the placenta pulls away from the uterine wall. We had an autopsy done and I guess will find out what caused this at my 6 week check up.

If anyone has any advice on how to deal with the emptiness and saddness I am feeling please write back.

Landon's Mommy - I am so sorry for your loss. We just lost our little girl 3wks ago @ 17wks gestation... There is nothing to compare to this sort of pain. Your life will never be the same...

I have been told by many, that while you will never forget your precious baby, you will learn to live with the pain; that the pain itself will lessen. I am still waiting for this. I no longer cry myself to sleep EVERY night, nor do I cry all day; but I also always feel like something is missing. And I don't know how to get it back.
I have found that being on this website helps me. I have started a blog where I can just let go with all of my feelings and questions, and everything. It also seems to help to know that there are so many (way too many!) people here who have experienced the same loss, the same sadness, and have advice and understanding to pass along.

You have my prayers for you and your angel,
Becky

Landon's mom,

I just wanted to say hi and welcome you to SHARE. I just became part of this community myself. I've lost my son at 22 weeks 6 days. I went into premature labor and he died during delivery. The long version of my story is on this website, if you put my name in the search engine box. Anyway, it's not even about me. All of us have similar stories, our pains are all the same.

I really hope you find support, comfort and encouragement on this site and that I can be your (online) friend in this horrible time. For me it has been almost a month ago, and you know what.. the rawness wears of the emotions after a while. The pain and emptiness and loneliness stay for a long time.

Anytime you want to talk, cry, scream... I'll be here. I am getting a little hooked on this site. For better and for worse. But I will be checking in with you!

Jessica (www.whazzup.typepad.com/moving_on/)

Leslie, I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet little Kailey. I too, just lost my son four weeks ago at 18 weeks, so I share your pain and heartbreak. I have no words to replace what you've lost, but I hope it helps you a tiny bit to know that we all care and I am praying for you.

Please continue to write and post here. I was really hesitant at first to really join this community, but I can tell you honestly it has helped me so much just to write down my feelings and receive support from other women who truely understand my loss. I hope you are also able to find comfort and healing at SHARE.

With love,
Kristi

Any words are just useless right now. Your pain will never fade, but you will just learn to live with it! I am really sorry for what has happened to you... I know and I understand. Four years ago I lost my baby boy at 22 weeks and 6 days. Ten days before that I arrived at the hospital bleeding. The doctors discovered I was already dilatated and with the membranes protruding. Next day I got an emergency cerclage, but the infection, which was already there, but well hidden, didn't allow me to continue the pregnancy more than 10 days. three months after losing our baby boy I found miself pregnant again. at 23 weeks I lost my plug and got again an emergency cerclage. This time I spent 7 weeks in hospital in bed rest, with bathroom privileges and one shower a day. At week 30 I was allowed to go home, where I have een in modified bed rest until week 35, when I gave birth to my baby girl Alix. She was small and we spent about ten days in NICU, just to make sure she gains weight. She is doing great now and in few days she will turn 3. Now I am in modified bed rest again. I had the cerclage done in week 18, I spent one night in the hospital and then sent home. Since the cerclage I had contractions every single day, with few exceptions, but apparently they don't do anything to my cervix, which remains at 4.5cm length. Now I am in week 25+3 and counting.
I wish you good luck and try to belive that next pregnancy will go well. Although it is a very controversial procedure, it works in many cases.
A

Dear A - Congratulations on your baby girl Alix and on your new pregnancy. I am so sorry for the loss of your baby boy; it has been only 4wks since we lost our little girl and I am having a rough time with it.
Please keep visiting us during your pregnancy to let us know how you and baby are doing.
Becky

Welcome to Share. I am very sorry for your loss of Kailey.

Like Kara, I would suggest meeting with a Perinatologist (high-risk OB) before you become pregnant again, so you can determine the best course of action.

During my pregnancy caring triplets, I appeared fine until 21 weeks, at which point I needed to have an emergency cerclauge. It was considered emergency, because most cerclauges are placed before 16 weeks. At the time, I was our only option. It bought me a few more weeks, at 25 weeks one of the water sacs broke and several days later our boys were born.

If your Peri is suggesting a cerclauge, I would certainly do it. You may want to look into the ab. type too, I don't know much about that kind. A regular cerc. is painless (under a spinal) and does not take too long. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have looked into one with our triplets, long before I needed one.

My thoughts are with you as you consider another pregnancy, I know it is a hard and confusing decision.

-Shonda

My cousin had previously had two miscarriages early on and then had become pregnant once again with a little boy, she also lost him at around 23 weeks along. also due to an incompetent cervix. When she became pregnant again they did cerclage. She was on bed rest most of her pregnancy from beginning to end, she was only able to get up to use the bathroom and she even layed down in the car on the way to doctor's appointments. It was not easy and a long pregnancy but everything turned out great. Although her daughter was still born prematurley, she made it through her pregnancy and without cerclage, she would never been able to bring a pregnancy to term. Her daughter is now 3 1/2 and perfect! I am so sorry for your loss. I hope that you do not give up your dream for a child, it will happen.

I AM SORRY YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY AGAIN YOU CAN DO IT I WILL PRAY FOR YOU.YOUR SO STRONG AND GOD IS WITH YOU

BE ENCOURAGED

Leslie,

I went through a similiar situation as you four weeks ago. I had my little boy, Cohen, early because of my incompetent cervix. He was 26 weeks 1 day. He was transported to a hospital about 45 minutes away and was in the NICU for 18 days. He had kidney failure and the doctors told me there was no hope for my little boy. He passed away on October 11th.

My doctor told me about the procedure that would be done next time. I do not know anyone personally that has had this procedure, but I have heard stories of it being successful.

I know there are no words that can describe the heartache you feel with the loss of your baby girl, but please know that there are other people who have been through similiar situations and that we are here for you. Another little boy was burried right beside of Cohen the day after his funeral. I spoke with his mother and she told me to always remember that at night my child is shining down on me. There is also a great book that someone bought for me called, "Mommy Please Don't Cry." Sometimes its helpful for me to read that.

I'm praying for you!

I was only 17 years old when I lost my daughter at 22 weeks. I was at work (standing a lot) and started to feel something pressing on my bladder. I didn't know what was going on. The bag of water was hour-glasssing out (as I later came to understand). I went home and layed down. I remember I could barely walk up the stairs. My girlfriend came over and drove me to the hospital. When I got to the emergency room I was dialated 5 cm. It took 18 hours from the time I got to the hospital, but my bags of water ended up breaking and I went into labor delivering my daughter the next afternoon. That was nine years ago and I can honestly say it is still the most painful experience of my life. My body produced milk. Physically and emotionally my body told me I was a mother but my arms were empty. Not to mention all the things I had bought for the baby just sitting there in the corner...at the time it just seemed like a cruel joke nature was playing with my heart. I know all about this intense pain... just like all the other women who have shared their stories on this board. I was a teenager at the time, and yes, life would have been so much harder for me had she survived, but I've never once considered her loss a blessing in disguise (as some uneducated people in my life have cruelly pointed out). I am now 26 years old, a college graduate and 10 weeks pregnant. Of course I am terrified, especially since I am swiftly approaching the danger period (the second trimester) but I am also very excited and optimistic. I have read a lot about cervical cerclage and it's success. I am hoping that it will work for me this time around. There is nothing more I want than to be a mother. My doctor has also mentioned that there is one other measure I could do to keep my baby inside longer and that is with weekly progesterone shots starting at week 16. According to my doctor, this has worked for her high-risk patients in preventing preterm labor. For this pregnancy I will be treated for both incompetant cervix and preterm labor with a cerclage and weekly progesterone shots. I just wanted to cover all the bases. I have my next doctor appointment tomarrow and we will discuss the date of my cerclage and I have other questions of course.

I will be sure to keep everyone updated on my progess. I know how it can be. Ever since the loss of my daughter I have been obsessed with finding stories similar to my own so that in some odd way I could gauge the chances of having a successful pregnancy in the future. I pray for all of the mothers out there who have lost their children. Even though your baby is in heaven, you are a mother. You will never be the same or envision the world like you did before your baby. These angels soften our hearts and change us forever & please, don't for one second think that God has foresaken your pain. Prayers and having hope is the only thing that got me through the pain. If there was no God than what would become of our little angels? Please have faith. Life is full of heartache, and as awful as it sounds, your spirit will be wiser and stronger. No one is immune from suffering...the reward for your pain is spiritual growth and wisdom. You will never forget your loss although the pain eases up over time. I think of my daughter every single day. She has changed a lot about the way I think and taught me a great deal about compassion for others. I never thought I would have the courage to get pregnant again, but I've always hoped I would be a mom. For some reason God has decided to bless me and give me another shot. It has been nine years and I'm going to do this again. Please pray for me. I am thinking of all of you.

Love,

CC

I am so very sorry for the loss of your son Cohen. Words can not fully describe the pain and heartache you are feeling. But please know that we are here for you as you grieve your son. Just know that we are only a message away, and someone is always here to listen. This wonderful community, these wonderful people have been here through the most devastating and darkest hours of my life. SHARE and the March of Dimes is now very much a large part of my life. My angel girls, your angel Cohen and all our SHARE angels will always be remembered here.
I have found that telling my girls story and starting a blog (an online journal) here at SHARE has helped me in the beginning stages to healing. Please visit us often, and let us know how you and your family are doing.
We welcome you to SHARE with open arms and open hearts.
HUGS & healing thoughts sent your way,
Colleen
Mom to one earth angel
Gradon McKenzie 11/18/98-38 weeks gestation
Two heavnely angels
Gabrielle Lynn 12/7/05-22 weeks gestation
Abigail MArie 8/1/06-19 weeks gestation

Dear CC - thank you for sharing your story with us. I am so sorry for the loss of your little girl, and your right, it wasn't a "blessing in disguise" as some have said to you. No matter our age, loosing a child is the single hardest thing any person will ever face. I lost my sweet daughter at 17.4wks on Sept 10; I am still struggleing daily with my grief.

Congratulations on your new pregnancy; I am praying for you to have a LONG BORING 9mths. I am going to recommend to you that you check out the "Currently Creating A Miracle?" thread under the Parent to Parent tab (at the top of the screen). There are many pregnant women there who all have different stories of previous pregnancies, inc loss. It was a help to me while I was pregnant with my little girl.

Pls keep visiting us here on Share; we are here to support you, listen to you and just be here when you need us. I hope to hear from you soon...
Becky

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your precious little baby. August 17, 2006 is a very bad day around SHARE. I delivered my little boy Mac on that day (he had passed 2 weeks earlier however at 17+ weeks) & Colleen gave birth to Abby on that date as well. I had come to SHARE infrequently before that because my 4th was borna t 26 weeks but since we lost Mac I come here way too much & it has been such a big help. Please keep coming here for the support. It helps a lot.

Becky

Becky,

Thanks for the welcome. It is much appreciated. I have a doctor's appointment today and plan on visiting this board with updates.

Love,

CC

Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. No one can even begin to imagine the pain unless they have experienced it. I cannot tell you how to get over it as I am trying to figure that out for myself. I just seem to be getting worse. I opted not to have a cerclage as my doctor said its risky. She said studies had been done that showed it often caused infection because its foreign to the body. Instead, she monitored me weekly via vaginal ultrasound. My cervix never did open, so that was not our problem. No one knows why my water broke. I almost think I would feel better if I knew the reason so that I could take precautions if there is a next time for us. I have a friend who had an incompetent cervix and she now has three beautiful children. She was on bedrest with all three and a cerclage with all of them. She too had miscarriages prior to the three kids. Another friend had triplets and she had a cerclage. She is the one who advised me to seek one, but after discussions with my high risk doctor, I decided against it.
Anyways, here is our story. Sorry its so long. I just copied it from our website which is www.alexander-gabriel-woodard.memory-of.com
OUR STORY

In March of 2006, my husband and I underwent a third round of IVF. We had three embryos implanted and two weeks later, we found out that we were having twins!! We were both very excited and looked forward to having three children (We had a daughter who was 10 months at that time). I began planning and thinking about things we would need. I arranged to obtain two cribs and a changing table from family. We obtained a rocking chair from my mother-in-law that was used for my husband. I began reading up on raising "twins" and the further we got in the pregnancy, the more excited we became. I was really looking forward to the day that I could sit and watch all three of our children playing together.
Things were going along very smooth. In June, we found out that both were boys. We were going to have our little girl and two boys. I went to my doctor every week to have my cervix measured. It looked so great that I got to skip a week right before this happened!
On July 26, 2006 at noon, I stood up from my desk at work and felt a large gush of fluid. Right away, I knew what had happened. Even though my water never broke with my daughter, I knew what it was. I immediately asked someone to drive me to the closest hospital with a good neonatal unit. I was only 19 weeks and 6 days, so I knew it was way too early to deliver them. I went to St. Joseph's in Pontiac, MI because I have a good friend who delivered triplets there at 30 weeks and they are healthy and beautiful two year olds today.
I was driven to the hospital where I was given antibiotics and some pills to stop the minor contractions that the monitor was picking up. Both boys still had strong heartbeats, but baby "A's" membranes had ruptured. We were told that even though they were in separate sacs, their fates were connected. We could not deliver one without delivering the other. The doctor told us that it was way too early and we should terminate the pregnancy. He stated that since St. Joseph was a catholic hospital, he could not do the procedure, so we should go to our own hospital (our own hospital and my doctor were about an hour away from my job; that is why we ended up at St. Joseph).
My husband and I were devastated! How could a doctor be so cold? He didn't have any compassion and seemed to want to get rid of us since we were not his patients.
We called my doctor who was on vacation at the time. She called us back (while on vacation!) and my husband talked to her for a half an hour. She was shocked that we were not given the opportunity to talk to a neonatologist and were told that I could just ride in the car to our hospital. She arranged for me to be transfered to our hospital (Hurley Medical Center in Flint, MI) via ambulance.
Upon arrival at Hurley, I was admitted and talked to a neonatologist and my primary doctor's partner. We were told that the chances of survival for Alexander (baby "A") were not good since the water broke so early. However, the neonatologist told us that he had seen miracles before. Gabriel (baby "B") was still doing great.
Our doctor said we had three choices: We could terminate and try again, we could wait two more weeks before making a decision at all (we did not need to decide anything until the 22nd week. After that point, the doctor's were obligated by law to use all lifesaving techniques), or we could just decide to ride it out and pray for the best.
Needless to say, there was never a question in our minds that we would do everything we could to bring these babies home with us. We decided to stay status quo for as long as possible and hope that infection would not set in. If it did, they would have to be delivered immediately because my health would be in jeopardy.
I spent almost 6 weeks in the hospital. Everyday, the nurses would come in and get heart tones and everything was going along great. They were both still growing and gaining weight. I had several ultrasounds and our hopes increased everyday. We were initially told that we needed to make it to 24 weeks to have a 50/50 chance. That date came and went and our new goal was 25 weeks. We got to 24 weeks and 5 days when I began to bleed profusely.
I had to undergo an emergency C-section. I had a placenta abruption and an infection that they did not discover until they opened me up. I was in really bad shape. I did not realize how bad until after the surgery.
Our boys were delivered on August 29, 2006. Both of them had immature lungs. Alexander fought a good fight for 10 hours and Gabriel hung in there for three days.
We were given the opportunity to hold both boys. Gabriel died in our arms after we took him off the ventilator. I wish we could have done that same thing with Alex, but hopefully he still heard us.
I will never understand why god did this to us. I try and tell myself that he had a reason and it will be revealed in time, but its so unbelievably difficult! Not only did he take them from their mommy and daddy, but he took them from their sister. She never had the opportunity to meet them or hold them. One day, we will tell her what happened and show her all of their things (when she's old enough to understand). I know that they are in heaven watching over all of us. I try and take comfort in the fact that atleast they are together.

As if what happened was not enough, I had complications from my c-section. Part of my incision never healed inside. A large section was re-opened and my poor husband had to stick a wet gauze pad inside of me twice a day. It was very painful. He does not have to do the gauze anymore, but the incision is still not completely closed and it has been 7 weeks now! I know in time, the pain will ease and it helps to know that I am not alone.

Take care. Please feel free to email me anytime.

Dear woodardk - I am so sorry for the loss of your boys. I recently lost my little girl and the pain is still unbearable some days.
I hope that you continue to visit us here on Share and know that we are here to offer our ears, hearts and voices to support you through this time. I have found a tremendous amount of understanding from the people who are here... I now keep a blog to help me work through my pain. There is also a folder in the Parent to Parent tab titled "Families who have lost a baby"; I encourage you to check it out. There are a lot of conversations there that might help you.
You and your family are in my prayers,
Becky

It has been a long time since I have written. Last August we lost our baby girl due to an incompetent cervix at just less than 23 weeks. I shared our story on the website and found reading other stories on the share site very helpful to our grief. I wrote back and forth with a few of you for a while and then fell quickly back into my daily routine. I still visited the site here and there to see how others were doing but did not feel like writing much. Well we are pregnant again and I just had a preventive cerclage placed last Tuesday at 13 weeks. Everything went well with the procedure but it was very hard to be back in the hospital where we lost Kailey. I had some light spotting and cramping for a day or two and then I felt for the most part ok and I will be starting the P17 shots at 16 weeks. The doctor said I would need to limit my activities at about 18 weeks (not as I am doing much of anything now) so I will have lots of time to pen pal and would love to hear from any of you. I know have many questions to ask others who had a cerclage placed and would like to share my experiences along the way with any one who might be thinking of getting one. Wish us luck!