Why so many preemies, you ask?
I have a condition called incompetent cervix. It occurs in about 1% of pregnancies. Pretty rare. The only known cause is trauma to the cervix, either with something like a D&C procedure, or a traumatic vaginal birth. I didn't have any of these. Mine just occurred. Maybe a birth defect. No one really knows.
Normally this can be fairly successfully treated with a procedure called a cerclage. Basically your perinatologist sews your cervix up while you're pregnant, and takes the stitch out at 36 weeks or so, so you can go ahead and get that kid out.
Unfortunately, I also have a very irritable uterus, and preterm labor.
The general thought is that because when I contract, my cervix is dynamic - opening and closing - a cerclage may not work on me at all. I may rip through it, causing more damage to my cervix and potentially being very dangerous.
We're not really sure. Since I just found out about the IC with my pregnancy with E, I haven't had the opportunity to seriously consider it. I would like to try ONE more time, for one more baby, and see if the cerclage can buy me a few more weeks. But I also don't want to keep popping out preemies. I feel it kind of crosses an ethical line, if I *know* I can't carry to term.
Anyway, none of that matters since I'm not married at the moment. I'll worry about it later.
I just thought you might be curious!
0 comments:
Post a Comment