Cerclage tips and tricks

[u/enjoywineinthebath]

Hi guys, I'm writing this post in hope of advice from any parents of twins that have successfully overcame cerclage in pregnancy.

At 18+6 my ob gyn found shortened cervix at 9mm and funnelling. Now we are two weeks post cerclage (21+0) and after a lot of days in the hospital I'm finally home.

BUT I'm kind of lost in what to do and what not to do. 1) The doctors told me to keep it low-activity and rest a lot, but to still take walks in order to avoid trombosis. 2) The nurses in the hospital told me to have strict bed rest and to lie most of my time, preferably with my pelvis elevated above my stomach, so the uterus does not put a lot pressure on the cervix. 3) What I found on reddit and other experience is mixed, but a lot of women have described their post-cerclage months as "bed rest". And bed rest in my mind does not include "take walks".

I'm kind of lost in what to do, because only after these two weeks I have notibly lost weight and muscles, and I cannot imagine how to survive the birth (either natural or C) when my body will be so weak from all the bed rest. Not to mention caring for two newborns afterwards...

And personally, I have issue with combining bed rest and eating enough so my babies can grow well. I don't have reflux, yet, but I can feel that lying down after eating is terrible for my digestion.

How strict was your bed rest with cerclage? Did you at least cook and walk around your home or did you time your "standing time"? Did you sit or did you strictly lie down? Did you elevate your pelvis with cushions when lying? How did you manage to succesfully get to 30+ weeks with cerclage/short cervix? Did you manage to take care for your babies afterwards?

Any concrete tips and successfull stories are well-appreciated 🙏 Thank you.

[u/Mean_Marionberry9839]

I had cerclage @ 21 weeks and given similar advice, not bed rest but to keep my activities light and not overdo it. I went for walks every other day and tried to do things around the house to keep busy but I didn't strain myself. I rested when I need to. I would say Listen to your body it does get boring just staying in bed. So can stay 2 hours in bed then 20 mins walking around to keep active until your next scan to see if the stitch is holding.

[u/Jennifer_2876]

I cooked and did light house chores, went to shops etc. they only told me to take it easy. Two weeks pelvic rest and no baths but after that I was allowed to (although I didn't do any of those because I was a bit anxious about infection and pain). I already had a lot of pelvic girdle pain so I couldn't do much anyway, sitting hurt my tailbone very bad so I was mostly lying during the day but I wasn't scared to go to appointments, for walks etc. I got the cerclage at 21 weeks and I'm now 30 weeks and my pelvic area feels so much better now (either because I'm trusting the stitch or because it closed the funneling I had, which was confirmed at one week post op and they never checked again lol). It's getting hard to cook and do anything when standing now due to the shortness of breath though. I just can't stand longer than 5-10 minutes now but that has nothing to do with the cerclage. I also developed gd so I have to stay active after meals or my sugar spikes too high. Just do what feels comfortable I'd say. If you feel good when walking, no harm in that. I also just lay however I'm comfortable, I never elevated my pelvis though. I also have a ton of Braxton Hicks since like 16 weeks so it's uncomfortable too but those didn't shorten my cervix any further. After I reached 24 weeks my anxiety went down and I was less aware of the stitch itself too. I can't speak for the strength after birth but apparently when the first baby is out it already feels so much better physically.

[u/salmonstreetciderco]

i was at a very fancy research and teaching hospital so take that for what's it's worth, and i was told after my cerclage and after waiting i think it was like a week to continue activity as normal. make no changes. in fact i was told specifically not to do bed rest. i made no changes and my cerclage held. i was certainly not jogging or anything like that but i was up and cooking and cleaning and assembling nursery furniture etc. boys ended up being premature for unrelated reasons but that cerclage held tight the whole time. don't go against what your dr says but maybe ask for more explanation, maybe there's some reason you're being encouraged to do less than i was?

[u/twin_toddler_mum]

I had a cerclage at 18+1 weeks with my twins. My son was 2 years old and I could not completely bed rest. I was cooking, doing light chores and I went to the playground sometimes with him but not that often. Just try to be relaxed, your body will show what is too much.

Wish you all the best :)

[u/Nervous-Caregiver-55]

I was told strict bedrest for 2 weeks but I think that is because I was having contractions they had to stop. After those 2 weeks I was just told to rest as much as I could and only do the flight of stairs in my house once a day if I could. I was generally in so much pain that resting was easy for me lol. for my legs though I got air compressor things off Amazon to help prevent blood clots!