NOTE : For the regular advice on Week 24, I suppose there are hundreds of other websites to tell you how it
goes. This blog serves to supplement those sites, my personal favourites
being What To Expect, Baby Centre UK and Parents.
Do take note, however that I am not a professional physician, I
practise law for a living and the only thing I know about incompetent
cervix is through my own experience as a mother of 2 and a 22 week old
baking in the oven! :) The purpose of this blog then is just to simply
share the joys and heartaches, the blessings and curses, the sadness and
happiness and the disappointments and the pleasant surprises of our
journey as a mom with an incompetent cervix.
REALLY??? We are in Week 24 already? Well, we made it to viability!
Ok, so what is this viability all about? What does it mean? Does it mean my baby will definitely survive if he/she is born now? Does that mean I don't have to restrict my activities anymore and there are no more worries?
Well, the good news is... Yes, your baby will have a chance for survival if she/he is born now, and if you do go into preterm labour, your doctor will probably take all the necessary steps (do whatever they can) to save the baby. Before this... well... before this, they may just tell you 'that there is nothing that they can do', which translates to : If your baby is not yet 24 weeks, they will just consider it an unfortunate miscarriage which they can't do anything about. But now if you do go into preterm labour, they will do everything that they can to save the baby!
(Source : http://www.mamasaidknockyouup.com/2013/02/fetal-survival-rates-week-to-week.html)
The bad news is... the baby is still terribly premature. 24 weeks is about 6 months... we are still 3 months short, and there is a good reason why nature requires a 9-month period of gestation, not 6. In fact, in normal pregnancies, these women are told to watch out for signs of preterm labour as from now till Week 37, our babies are still considered premature and will have to be confined to NICU for a while.
So, NO, viability just means that the doctors may try to save our babies, and our babies have a better chance at surviving and then go on to live happy healthy lives, but that doesn't mean you are off the hooks. Why take unncessary risk when you can help it? Stay off your feet still - bedrest isn't all that bad (Read Week 23 here). Ask any mom who have had a premature baby, and you will know the tears and heartache which you will have to go through before your little one can finally go home. I mean, wouldn't it be a truly happy occassion if your baby can actually latch on and feed off your breasts right after he/she is born and to be able to breathe on his/her own without painful tubes all over them? Both my boys were jaundiced when they were born, and seeing them naked under the phototherapy is painful enough to watch, what more if they have to breathe and feed through tubes. So ladies.... hang in there. After all we have made it so far so why take risks?
But on the psychological side, yes, you can mentally relax. Stop fretting over every single tingle and twitch, and start to enjoy the pregnancy from now onwards. Enjoy your healthy meals (and those no-so-healthy tub of ice cream and 3 pieces of crunchy deep fried chicken) and enjoy bonding with your little baby who by now is creating a little gymnasium of his/her own in your tummy. Take comfort in the fact that if the worst happens and the little one is born now, there is at least a 50% chance for survival, unless the previous weeks. Anxiety is NOT a healthy part of pregnancy, and many believe that it will affect your baby's mental wellbeing as well. Try to smile more to dear hubby who has been so supportive all these weeks (eventhough some days they may not SEEM to be so TO YOU, but truly, they HAVE BEEN). Believe me... I know.
This is a good week. And congratulations that you have made it to this date. Before you knew it, the 3 months would have sailed by and you will have your little bundle of joy in your arms.
NOTE : For the regular advice on Week 8, I suppose there are hundreds of other websites to tell you how it
goes. This blog serves to supplement those sites, my personal favourites
being What To Expect, Baby Centre UK and Parents.
Do take note, however that I am not a professional physician, I
practise law for a living and the only thing I know about incompetent
cervix is through my own experience as a mother of 2 and a 16 week old
baking in the oven! :) The purpose of this blog then is just to simply
share the joys and heartaches, the blessings and curses, the sadness and
happiness and the disappointments and the pleasant surprises of our
journey as a mom with an incompetent cervix.
If you are seeing your baby for the first time on the ultrasound, I can feel your excitement! You may even be able to hear his/her heartbeat, and you might be so tempted to announce to the world now that it is sooooo real!!!
But if already know you have the condition of an incompetent cervix and this is another 'IC baby' (as we IC moms fondly refer to our little babies), you may start having mixed feelings. Along with other 1st trimester pregnancy worries, you know that while others look forward to Week 14 as it marks the end of the 1st trimester, that will be the time when we will have to undergo the cerclage procedure. Some of us may already have some changes to our cervix, or if you are like me, you have a short cervix to begin with. You may not know of your condition yet, but some countries are already making it compulsory for cervical length to be checked at 16 weeks (do refer to Week 7 on England NHS's petition). I have also shared some of the worries (financially, psychologically and physically) in Week 7.
Some of us do get some bleeding/spotting at this point. I was diagnosed with subchrionic hematoma
which is supposedly common, but how many pregnant women like the idea of bleeding during her pregnancy? Blood is never a good sign, and seeing a dark patch around the sac on the ultrasound isn't exactly reassuring. The happy ending says the blood clot will dissolve on its own, the unhappy ending says you end up in a miscarriage. Either ways, it is especially not a welcomed diagnosis for an IC mom, simply because this should be the last few weeks of normal activity, perhaps even a few more gym sessions before the dreaded bedrest (modified, strict or otherwise), but with a subchrionic hematoma, again bedrest is prescribed. So now what... instead of 6 months of restricted activity, it has become 8???
But well... if it is for the good of having that little bundle of joy in your arms in the end... WHY NOT? If I have to do this over and over again, I would. But at this point, perhaps the question of whether you would stop having babies may pop up with hubby (ignore the rest, remember?). For me, this is my 3rd IC baby. and my OBGYN noted during my cerclage procedure 2 weeks ago that there were scar tissues from my previous cerclages, and he had to stitch around and away from those scar tissues. It will not get easier or less risky if I do decide to have more babies. He did mention I may have issues with dilation when labour comes (cervical dystocia). And of course, other factors like, will your career be once again stagnanted, how about finances? If you already have 2 or 3 children, you will need to plan for their future as well. Bedrest may affect them too, as most of them may still be a toddler, or a preschooler, and they need lots of cuddles and attention and outings. Which, of course, is not possible with bedrest.
Since your pregnancy is now very real (there are statistics that show if you hear and see the heartbeat at 8 weeks, the chances of a continuing pregnancy increases to 98% as compared to just a couple of weeks ago when it was slightly above 60%), this is a good week to start making some solid plans for what is to come. Start with the short term ones, like who will help out with household chores during the weeks (or months) of bedrest after the cerclage placement, who will chauffeur the older kids around to babysitters, playschools and piano lessons, who will prepare your meals, and what will you do to occupy yourself. Do you have to inform your employer now? Should you? It is best to be honest and open, tell your boss the possibilities, from the best to worst case scenario, and what to expect. As for yourself, Be prepared for the best... or worst. You may be asked to leave, or you may be granted paid leave. But always remember at the end of all this... what can be worth more than that Little Rainbow you will hold against your breasts?
