2cm dilated, membrane visible, no cervix left @ 24 wks

[Beans2011]

Hi all,
My wife has been in the hospital for 2 weeks now and is just about 24 weeks pregnant with our twins. She came into the hospital with hardly any cervix left (less than 1cm), but no other signs of PTL.  They did an exam on her when she was admitted and the cervix still looked closed and maybe dilated 1cm.  They've done some ultrasounds while she's been here, but didn't want to do anything internally and risk disturbing the cervix as long as she isn't having any changes in symptoms.  They did another exam yesterday (1st visual in 2 wks) and saw the cervix was open about 2 cm and the membrane is visible. They gave her the first steroid shot, indocin to stop contractions. The also hooked her up to a contraction monitor and found that she wasn't contracting, but will keep her on the indocin for 3 days anyway just in case.
As you can imagine, we are pretty scared. Are there any success stories out there of women hanging on for weeks with membranes exposed?  We are trying to stay positive, and success stories is what keeps us going. I've posted in the past when she was first hospitalized and many of you shared stories of hanging on with a short cervix. I'm hoping there are some about when it gets to this point and you still hung on.
We've fought so hard and long for these twins and aren't going to give up, as long as one person has hung on, we know we can. We are praying to get a few more weeks.

[twins]

Hi beans,

Not the news you wanted but you are almost 24 weeks at least - a few more days - Monday right?  When i had my cerclage placed i met a nurse who 20 years ago lost a baby at 26 weeks due to pre term labour (they just didn't have the technology back then to save the baby that they have today).  She subsequently got pregnant again and suffered the same issues at 26 weeks ptl and 4 cm dialated - she was on strict hospital bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy and remained dialated at 4 cm for 6 weeks when she finally gave birth at 32 weeks.  Have faith - you are in my thoughts and prayers.  Good luck.

Laura

[Beans2011]

Thanks for the story Twins, I just read it to my wife!  Monday will be 24 wks. The news wasn't great, but I guess our docs weren't too surprised either.  Just as we are settling in, bad news always seems to come. But, we will try and march on, one day at a time (actually 12hrs at a time, we celebrate noon each day). Thanks for the prayers and thoughts!  How are things with you?

[Gravidanza]

Hi Beans,

I've been following your story, and keeping my fingers crossed that you and your wife can hang in there for many more weeks! I'm pregnant with twins and was admitted to the hospital for preterm labor at about 27 weeks. My cervix was very short: in fact I can't even remember now what the number was, because it turned out that I was also 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and contracting on top of that, and those other issues were a lot more pressing at the time. Anyway, the medical staff followed standard procedure, giving me magnesium sulfate, steroids, and antibiotics upon admission, and they continued to monitor the contractions and dilation closely. The combination of meds and bed rest worked well enough for me to be sent home on bed rest at 29 1/2 weeks, and I'm still here, pregnant, at 34 weeks. Since the initial round of meds I've been on nifedipine (procardia) for the contractions, which seems to be keeping them to a minimum: I've had no further dilation. While its true that I was several weeks further along than your wife when I was admitted, it is also true that nobody at the time thought I'd still be pregnant at 34 weeks. While I was on the prenatal ward at the hospital, I met several other families who were dealing with similar issues. One couple was there expecting their second child. Their first, it turns out, had been born at the same hospital six years earlier... she was born somewhere around the 26th week, if I remember correctly, and weighed about 1.5 lbs at birth. She turned out to be a very healthy, happy little girl! It is pretty amazing what they can do in the NICU these days. I know that the thought of giving birth to a micro preemie or even a preemie is really daunting, but one thing that I found really helped was to just take one day at a time and focus on very short-term goals. My husband has been fantastic throughout all of this, and having him by my side has made all the difference. The fact that you're on these boards suggests that you're just as good, and you should know how much that must be helping your wife!

[Beans2011]

Thanks Gravidanza. That's a great story and I hope you keep going and prove them all wrong. You must be so happy to hit 34 wks, with the Meds they will be as healthy as full term babies if they come early. Congrats!
You mentioned you were 3cm dilated, could they see the bag?  That's been the real change that has us worried now. By I've trolling the old posts on here and found some good success stories of women with membranes exposed hanging on for a long time. So we are praying we are the next one to post a happy story.

[Gravidanza]

I doubt that they could see the membranes - they didn't say anything about it, and I'm sure that they would have mentioned it. I can say though that there were at least a couple of other women on the prenatal floor with me - many who had been there for a few weeks - who actually had ruptured membranes and still hadn't given birth. So I have to think that there's still lots to be hopeful about for you two. Good luck and keep us posted!

[twins]

Hi Beans,

How is your wife doing today - 24 weeks tomorrow right?  I hope there has been no cervical changes!

Laura

[KayEm]

Hi Beans - I am so happy to see that your little ones are still cooking. Celebrating each day is such a great idea...I am looking forward to more updates and am sending good thoughts to you and your family!

[Beans2011]

Thanks Twins And Kayem. 24 weeks tomorrow (actually in 8 hrs from now). Once we get over tomorrow we hope all is quiet this week. Doc said that if no changes in symptoms, they will probably look again on Friday which is fine with us (less stress). I'll keep you posted.

[twins]

24 weeks - hope you are all still hanging in there!   

[Beans2011]

Hi Twins,

Yes we are still hanging in.  24 wks 2 days today!!  Moving along.....

The doctors said that they won't examine her this week unless symptoms change at this point, so hopefully all is quiet.  We don't need to hear "she's dilated a little more...." and get stressed out again.  Friday was a rollercoaster and we are settling in again to our little routine.

Our doctor did say the next thing she would expect is her water to break, which isn't good, but also might relieve some pressure off the cervix.  With antibiotics and monitoring she could stay that way for awhile.  But, we aren't hoping for that to happen!!

We are expecting another visit from the NICU which is always fun   Just to go over weeks 24-25, the first time we met with them we really focused on week 23 (since she was only 21+ at the time).  We've come along way and stayed pregnant longer than the doctors originally thought.

Thanks for checking in, how are things with you going?

[twins]

Glad to hear she is still hanging in there - she sounds like an incredibly strong woman!  Each day counts!

I am doing well - 31 weeks yesterday.   I am also going to be meeting with a neo natologist it was supposed to be this week but they have had to cancel for next week.  I guess they want to prepare for a premature birth and what i can expect - I think they think it will make me feel better if i go into labour early.  I guess its better to be mentally prepared but i like to think i can get to term or close to anyways.

Keep us posted - i often check this thread for an update!  I will be thinking about your family and hoping for the best.  Stay positive you guys have come so far already.

Laura

[KayEm]

Hope all is well, Beans!  25 weeks will be here before you know it...

[twinsat44]

Hi Beans,

I am so happy to hear that your wife is 24 weeks.  Praying that she can go longer!

I want to share a little bit of hope with you just in case.  My girls were born on 8/25 at 24 weeks on the dot.  They are 3 weeks old today!  Last week were really hard and we were told our littler girl needed to "turn the corner"  I was so hearbroken.  The girls have lots of lung issues and our bigger girl had a perforated bowel and needed surgery when she was 5 days old.  I am not telling you this to scare you but to encourage you to have hope because they are still here!!!!  They are getting better and are taking breast milk and weaning down on the ventilator and growing!!!  We are not out of the woods yet but we are getting there.

From what I have read, twins develop a little faster than single babies because they almost always come early.  This works in our favor!

I am praying for your family that those babies grow strong and bake a bit longer  

[Beans2011]

Twins44, congrats on your girls!  I'm so glad to hear they are doing OK.  We've met with the NICU twice now, and I can only imagine the rollercoaster you've been on.  Hang in there, from what we've heard, it will be a long ride, but, there are tons of wonderful success stories about 24 weekers.  My wife and I know twin 4yr olds that were born at 23.5 weeks, and they have virtually no issues.  The docs will tell you that that outcome isn't typical, but our thoughts are, why can't that be us?  and it can be your girls too!

We are coming up on 25 weeks on Monday, and will be excited once we get there, then I'll count down the hours to week 26 (our NICU said that outcomes at 26 wk are wonderful). 

Everyday feels like Groundhog's Day.  Ups and downs throughout the day.  My wife is walking on egg shells and gets scared every time she gets a Braxton Hicks (which is about 1 an hour), sometimes we ask to go on the contraction monitor just so she has peace of mind and the doc can say it's nothing to worry about.  I wish I could do more for her, I know she's mentally tortured with all this.

Thanks again for the prayers, I will be praying for your little girls too.  They WILL make it through this and so will we....