My niece is about 5 months pregnant with twin boys, and this week at her checkup the doctor told her that her cervix was already starting to thin. He did not put her on bed rest- just said that every day she stayed off her feet was another day she would carry those twins. Is early cervical thinning normal with twins? has anyone experienced this?

We do have a history of cervical incompetence in the family (my mom lost two babies fairly far along due to this during the 60's). I don't know if that puts her more at risk, but yikes- those boys really need to be more than 22 weeks to be born!!

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I don't believe in miracles; I depend on them

I would think that cervical problems in twin pregnancies is fairly common due to all of the pressure. I have b/g twins and was put on bed rest Jan 4, 2005 until they were born 03/03. Not sure how many weeks along I was. I had cervical problems (cervix shortening). They were born at 34w1d and are perfectly healthy 19 month olds now.

Hope this helps!

Susan
Finley and Jude
19 months
new bundle of joy arriving 05/2007

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finleyandjudemommy

Twins have a nice trend of coming early. My mom carried us till 38 weeks! Long time for that time HAHA Prayer said for your nephews!

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Casey loving wife to Steven mom to 4 bratty girls Amanda, Rebecca, Jessica and Makayla
Where did my baby go

I went to my 4.5 mth check up, and my cervix had started to thin. They were not too concerned about it, but I had also started to contract. They changed my appointments from seeing the Dr mthly, to every two weeks. I was not put on bed rest until I was 5.5mths pregnant, and I had started to dilate. They gave me steroid shots at 1cm, and complete bed rest when I had dilated to 2cms. I stayed at 2cm for about 2mths, but I made sure that I did EVERYTHING that the Dr recommended, as I knew that every week those babies were in me was better than them being in the NICU.
I did on my own accord, quit my job, ( I knew that I was going to be a SAHM) when my cervix started to thin, and stopped work at 5mths.
My recommendation, is tell her to listen to her body. If she feels funky at all, call the Dr. I felt like I had the flu at 7mths, and was told to go to the ER, and I was in active labor, but did not know it, as I never felt the contractions. I was put in hospital for 3 weeks, had the babies at 32.6weeks, and I am so happy that I made the babies my priority.
Now, they are happy and heathly at 9.5mths.
Good luck!! It is alot of fun!

I have b/g twins that will be twelve in November. When I was 32 weeks pregnant I was dilated to 1 and put on bedrest until week 37. At that time I was told I could go anytime and it would be safe. They were not born until 2 weeks later!

My cervix also started thinning pretty early. I was placed on bedrest at 20 weeks gestation due to that and the fact that my twins were diagnosed with TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome). I had to start going in weekly, was hospitalized twice for preterm contractions, effacing, dilating, etc. I was on put on Nifedipine for about 5 weeks before I ended up delivering, and had to drink 8 - 16 oz glasses of water every day, just to keep the contractions at bay. Finally, I delivered them at 33-1/2 weeks. Both girls are doing well now, but one of them still has some health issues and developmental delays, though none of those are related to coming early or being a twin. She was just born with several structural anomalies, and spent her first 6 months in a hospital.

My advice for your niece is to take it easy. Consider herself on light bedrest, and be careful how much she lifts, walks, etc. She should try lying down on her left side for an hour 3 times a day. The Perinatologist (high risk OB) I saw told me the latter is one of the best things you can do to maintain a pregnancy. Also, tell her to make sure to keep herself hydrated, as it really does work to slow contractions. At 22 weeks, it would honestly be more of a risk to place a cerclage (at least that's what I was told) for an incompetent cervix. Also, doctors aren't always very good about telling you what you should and shouldn't do. Perhaps she could get a more detailed description from him...some doctors will actually give you a list of activities that are and are not okay. My best guess by "taking it easy" though is that he meant at least "light bedrest."

Thanks everyone for your responses. I did a google search and got a lot of varied and mixed responses, all of them pretty frightening. It sounds like it is a common problem when carrying twins. I hope my niece will slow down and take things easy- I would be putting myself on bed rest in her shoes. Artie- doctors today *are* so politically correct, aren't they? They won't come right out and tell you what the best thing is to do- at least a lot of them won't. It's frustrating. Anyway, I'm praying she can make it to at least 33 weeks. She is pretty tiny and there isn't much room in there for twins!

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I don't believe in miracles; I depend on them