Told by Amanda
My pregnancy went well, minus horrible all day sickness until 20 weeks. Then at 20 weeks 5 days along I went in for a regularly scheduled appointment to discover that I was 3 centimeters dilated with bulging membranes! To back up a little I have to say that in hindsight I did show many signs of Pre-term labor. (backache, menstrual cramps, increased discharge) Instead of calling my doctor though I just asked some ladies online and was reassured that this was normal. Now, back to 3 cm dilated.

I knew from the ultra sound techs face that something was really, really wrong. When my perinatologist came in and told me I was losing the pregnancy, I went into shock. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around those words. I felt so good, I could feel my babies kicking, how could this be happening? I told him no, no way, there must be something we can do. I didn’t even know I was contracting at that point. He left the room and came back about 5 minutes later. He said to me “You are not a candidate for a cerclage, but if you’re willing to try it, I’m willing to place it.” (A cerclage is a surgical procedure where they sew your cervix shut during pregnancy.  It is usually done around week 12 to treat incompetent cervix which has allowed for a past late term loss.) He went on to explain how a cerclage worked and why I wasn’t a candidate: active labor, bulging membranes, too far dilated and the very slim chance that this would work. I vividly remember him saying that he might be able to buy me a couple days, but he didn’t see how he could get me to viability. I jumped at having a couple more days with my babies. I would have done anything for just another hour with my precious babies. More