My Incompetent Cervix Symptoms

Considering this is my first pregnancy I didn't really know what to expect in terms of all the changes that were happening. As the Bump website states there aren't many symptoms with an incompetent cervix. I did however question some of these changes- mainly that I did feel a lot of pressure pushing down on my cervix and I did have a lot of very sticky clear discharge which I felt was quite unusual. I had read lots of websites that this type of discharge was completely normal and that you would expect to have an increase in the amount of discharge over the course of pregnancy. Since having the cervical stitch there has been very little of this clear sticky mucous compared to before when it was very noticeable. I didn't experience any bleeding, cramping or back pain.

Date nights have been replaced by giving my pregnancy pillow some serious TLC

The causes of cervical weakness can be put down to having an abnormal smear, cervical trauma with a previous pregnancy, previous operations that require a D&C or congenital conditions. Thankfully none of these apply to me besides the last category. The Mayo Clinic includes a really good connection between genetic conditions and cervical incompetence 'genetic disorders affecting a fibrous type of protein that makes up your body's connective tissues (collagen) might cause an incompetent cervix' which I feel having read a number of websites none really address. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a condition that affects the production of collagen. It is also the condition my family suffers from.

Some facts about EDS...

I do alternate between feeling quite confident in the stitch to quite angry that my cervical length wasn't monitored as soon as I mentioned my EDS. During my first midwife's appointment it didn't take long before it was decided I needed to see a consultant. To be fair when seeing the consultant they were too preoccupied worrying about a heart condition developing, issues with my kidneys and a history of gestational diabetes in my family. I did raise my concerns of my cervix due to my EDS with the consultant, she said she would liaise with the premature clinic and it wasn't something to worry about until after 6 months. It has now been 17 days since my cervical stitch and I am 22 weeks + 4 days today.

22 weeks + 4 days today!