Case Summary  |  Cervical Incompetence during Pregnancy

When I was 30 weeks pregnant with my first child, I went to my OB/GYN for my regular pregnancy visit and upon examination, she diagnosed me with cervical incompetence, which means that my cervix was thinning and starting to dilate too early. I was not having contractions. My doctor said that sometimes the cervix starts to thin and dilate because of the weight and pressure exerted on it by the growing baby. My doctor prescribed strict bedrest for me until my 36th week of pregnancy. This worked for me and I did not end up delivering my son until 40 weeks. With my second pregnancy, I started having the same problem with cervical incompetence at 26 weeks. Since it was so early in the pregnancy, my doctor considered cervical cerclage, which is where she would surgically close my cervix so it could not dilate. However, since I had done so well with the bedrest during my first pregnancy, she agreed to let me try the strict bedrest again. Once again, I was lucky enough to deliver a full-term baby. I was warned, however, that if I get pregnant again, we will have to watch very early on because I am at risk for having a very premature baby.