# Stitch?



## ~SUGAR~ (Mar 25, 2006)

Hi Jan & Emilycaitlin
I'll be 11 weeks on Sunday, and am going for my 12 week scan and nuchal on Thursday next week. Because of my history (miscarried twins at 20 weeks April 2004) my doctor has rightly so kept a very close eye on me during this pregnancy, which is a singleton. I had every test under the sun before conceiving, to rule out blood clotting disorders and the like, and everything was clear. 

Although I never really got a full explanation about the reasons for my loss, there were a chain of events that lead to one baby dying, and forcing the other to be born, obviously too early too survive. I had lost some fluid two days before I miscarried, and went straight in to the hospital. They scanned and monitored me but said all seemed ok. To be honest, they seemed quite sceptical that I had even lost some fluid, although I knew for a fact that it wasn't urine. I was also having a very odd coloured CM, sort of bright yellow with  dark spotty particles in it. They swabbed me but the results didnt come back until after I had lost my babies. It turned out to be Strep B virus. Two days later when I went for my 20 week scan, they did notice a dramatic reduction in fluid around my little boy and said they couldn't complete the measurements because he was very squashed up. They told me not to worry as the fluid can replenish itself, and to come back in 2 weeks. Well, that night I was having a few slight twinges, but nothing too strange, or so I thought. I went to the toilet and when I wiped, I was horrified to see an umbilical cord hanging outside. We called an ambulance and my contractions started on the way to the hospital. They said my boy had died, and there was nothing they could do to stop the labour to save my little girl and that she would also be born.

After hearing this when I had ET, my embriologist suggested that I talk to my doctor about having a stitch. I didn't really understand this at the time, and had only ever heard of my friend's mother having one years ago, so assumed it was quite an old-fashioned procedure. However, I have now read of a couple of girls on the site who will have one at around 12-13 weeks, because they too had previously miscarried at around the 5 month mark. I know I must talk to my doctor about this, and I will next week, but seeing as I am now in Turkey and sometimes translation can be a problem, I like to go forearmed with as much info as I can. So please can you explain the procedure to me, its risks and how it works, and if it would be beneficial for me in light of what happened before. What I really don't understand is, if you are going to miscarry, how can putting in this stitch prevent that? Surely if the baby comes away from the utuerus, it will die, whether or not a stitch is there to stop it from actually coming right out? As you can see, I really haven't got a clue about it, so any help would be appreciated.
Thank you, Jo xx


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## emilycaitlin (Mar 7, 2006)

Hi, 

I'm so sorry about all you have been through.  It sounds as though your cervix had started to dilate slightly, which allowed the umbilical cord drop through.

Putting this stitch in just tries to prevent premature labour, as it keeps your cervix together.  It is usually performed under general anaesthetic, but only takes about 10 to 15 minutes.  It is basically a few stitches al coming together in your cervix, which is often removed later in your pregnancy.  It does carry a slight risk of miscarriage, but I THINK it's about 1 or 2%. 

Although it won't prevent other problems which can arise during pregnancy, it can prevent your cervix dilating early, thereby preventing premature labour.  It's a fairly common procedure which works well.

Hope this has been of help,

emilycaitlin xx


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## ~SUGAR~ (Mar 25, 2006)

Thanks Emilycaitlin

Your advice was really helpful, although after reading the chances of miscarriage, I really didn't want to go ahead with the procedure, as I was in the 1% minority before, and didn't want to put myself there again. Anyway, luckily after my nuchal scan and assessment yesterday where everything went really well, my doctor has said that it's not necessary for me to have this stitch, so that's a huge weight off my mind.

Thanks again, Jo xx


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