What you don’t know yet about incompetent cervix and miscarriage

Just six months after Meiling Wong found out she was pregnant, she suffered a miscarriage. This was the second time she’d lost her unborn child. At five months exactly, Wong expelled the baby without any pain. She only felt her water bag burst and the baby slipping out. The 28-year-old Wong displayed what practitioners call incompetent cervix symptoms.

Also known as cervical insufficiency, an incompetent cervix can lead to premature loss of pregnancy. Fortunately, it is treatable and Wong has a fairly good chance of becoming a mother this time.

Let’s understand more about this condition, including incompetent cervix symptoms.

What is an Incompetent Cervix?

When you have an incompetent cervix, it is unable to hold the baby’s weight and begins to soften and lengthen much before full-term. | Image courtesy: Shutterstock

An incompetent cervix, also known as cervical insufficiency, is a condition where the muscle fibers of the cervical tissues are weak leading to loss of a pregnancy or premature birth. It is one of the common causes of recurrent miscarriages. But how does it happen?

Before your pregnancy, your cervix–which is the lower part of your uterus that opens up to the vagina–is firm and closed. This ensures that your baby grows safely inside your uterus. But when you conceive, in preparation for the delivery, the cervix softens and opens up, lengthens (effaces), and also opens (dilates).

However, when you have an incompetent cervix, it is unable to hold the baby’s weight and begins to soften and lengthen much before full term. The woman may feel slight pain in the lower abdomen and have excessive mucous-like discharge, and without proper treatment, suffer a miscarriage or premature birth.

This usually happens anywhere between the fourth and the seventh month of pregnancy, specifically, anywhere between 12 weeks and 32 weeks.

Causes of Incompetent Cervix

Although the exact reason for incompetent cervix is still unknown, it is generally attributed to cervical weakness. This weakness may be inherent, which means the woman was born with it.

This usually may not occur due to external injury or trauma to the vaginal area, even though there haven’t been any studies to prove otherwise. Still, there are some health aspects that are often associated with an incompetent cervix.

• Exposure to DES (diethylstilbestrol) to the unborn child: This drug was administered to women between the 1930s and 1970s to prevent miscarriages. But it is no longer in use. Studies have found an association between exposure to this drug to miscarriages among young women.   
• Severe trauma to the cervix: A woman can develop an incompetent cervix if she’s gone through an extensive cone biopsy, especially after an abnormal pap smear test. Or, has had her cervix operated on more than five times.  
• Surgical procedures. According to some studies, other surgical procedures including dilation and curettage (D&C) may also be associated with an incompetent cervix.

For somebody who is born with a cervical weakness, it may begin to show its true form from the very first pregnancy. And it’s crucial to note here that once it happens during the first pregnancy, it’s likely to happen again in subsequent pregnancies as well.

Now the next big question is identifying if you have an incompetent cervix.

Incompetent cervix symptoms: What and how to weigh in?

Image Source: iStock

One of the crucial points to note here is that you cannot predict incompetent cervix symptoms or cervical weakness. Once a woman has had a miscarriage and the baby has slipped out with or without the water bag breaking, she is likely to go through this again.

So that of course is one of the first incompetent cervix symptoms.

You should also note if you feel mild discomfort or spotting between 14 and 20 weeks of your pregnancy. In addition to these two, you should also watch out for the following signs that are indicative of incompetent cervix symptoms.

• Constant sensation of pressure in the pelvic area
• Sudden development of a new backache
• Mild cramps
• Change in vaginal discharge whether in the color or smell
• Light vaginal bleeding between the second and third trimesters

These incompetent cervix symptoms may not seem significant at first. But it’s best to get a check-up if you spot any of them. If your doctor spots the condition, you will likely undergo surgery. 

Treatment of Incompetent Cervix

An emergency procedure called cerclage is usually the one that you’ll be advised if you’re diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. In this procedure, the doctor will sew back your weakened cervix into its closed position. This prevents the baby from slipping out. 

This procedure is usually performed between the 14 and 16 weeks of pregnancy. The sutures are typically removed anytime between 36 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. This prevents any complications as your body readies for delivery.

The only issue is that the procedure might put you at risk of maternal hemorrhage, uterine rupture, cervical laceration, and bladder rupture, in addition to premature labor. Although the likelihood of these conditions is not high, your doctor may still advise the procedure, because it can be life-saving.

The only reason that you are not a suitable ‘candidate’ for cerclage is because of the following:

• You are already dilated 4cms
• Your membranes have erupted
• Irritation in your cervix increases by the day

With that being said, even though there is no other prevention for an incompetent cervix than surgery, you can do a few things to keep your pregnancy healthy and safe.

Preventive measures for those with Incompetent Cervix

Make sure to go for regular prenatal checks, as it is crucial to access your as well as your unborn child’s health. | Image courtesy: Pixabay

The fact is that you cannot stop or prevent an incompetent cervix. If it’s something you are born with, only a thorough check-up will reveal its existence.

However, if you have been diagnosed with an incompetent cervix and have even spotted a few incompetent cervix symptoms, here are a few measures you can take to prevent a miscarriage.

• Regular prenatal care. Going for regular prenatal checks with ultrasounds is crucial to assess your and your unborn child’s health. You must share all and/or any symptoms or concerns, whether minor or not, with your doctor. 
• Eat a healthy diet. Make sure to be and stay on a healthy diet routine during and pre-pregnancy. If you’re preparing for pregnancy, you’ll need folic acid. And during pregnancy, you’ll require essential nutrients such as vitamins, calcium, and iron. Ask your doctor to recommend supplements if need be and check in with them about your dietary concerns. 
• Don’t eat for two. Gaining weight wisely is key to being fit and losing weight postpartum. Typically, anything between 10 to 12 kilos of weight gain is considered normal and healthy. You only need about 300 calories more than your normal diet. Anything more can put you at risk of developing gestational diabetes or high blood pressure.  
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Steer clear of smoking or consuming alcohol during your pregnancy. Both of these can cause birth defects in your baby including putting you at risk of premature birth, and your baby at risk of low birth weight, among other medical conditions.

The crucial thing to remember is that a previously diagnosed incompetent cervix can put you at risk of miscarriage. So if you’re considering conceiving again, it’s best to speak with your doctor to get proper treatment.

Republished with permission from theAsianparent Singapore

Here at theAsianparent Singapore, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advice or medical treatment. theAsianparent Singapore is not responsible for those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend consulting your doctor for clearer information.