What Is Cervical Incompetence?

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Cervical incompetence is a problem of pregnancy that is fortunately quite rare. When it happens, the symptoms usually occur during the second trimester of pregnancy. Cervical incompetence means that the cervix opens early and fails to maintain its strength. The cervix is the door to the uterus, and must remain closed throughout the pregnancy all the way until the end. When you are in labor, the door needs to open and allow the baby to be delivered. For this reason, it’s very important for the cervix to be “competent,” meaning that it needs to be able to do its job holding the baby in during the duration of the pregnancy until it’s supposed to open.

Who’s at risk of cervical incompetence? Primarily, women who have had procedures and surgeries performed her cervix such as conizations or LEEP Procedures, especially if she’s had more than one, are at higher risk of cervical incompetence. These surgeries may disrupt the tissue of the cervix, preventing it from staying closed. However, some women have cervical incompetence without any risk factors at all, especially women who have had cervical incompetence in prior pregnancies.

When a women is at risk for cervical incompetence, her doctor will take specific measures to diagnose the situation. The doctor will often times use his or her fingers to check to see if the cervix is dilating, or opening. Other times the doctor will use an ultrasound to check the length of the cervix and to determine if it is open.

If you do have cervical incompetence, what are the symptoms? The symptoms of cervical incompetence are, unfortunately, very subtle. Feelings of pressure and feeling as if you have to “push,” as if the baby’s coming out are symptoms that women may experience in the advanced stages. However, early on, when the cervix first starts to open, there may not be any symptoms at all except for possible subtle changes such as spotting or discharge.

How is cervical incompetence treated? If the doctor catches this problem before it becomes serious and before the cervix opens too much, the doctor may decide to do a procedure called a cerclage. A cerclage is a procedure where your doctor will place a stitch in the cervix in order to strengthen it and hold it closed until the end of pregnancy. The stitch is removed prior to delivery of the baby. Whether or not a cerclage is appropriate for you really depends on the specific details of your case, and must be discussed with your doctor.