u/Silent-Country-997

Hi,

Curious to hear how frequent your appointments are/were?

I had appointments at
13 weeks: 26 - 28 MM
15 weeks: 22 - 24 MM
17 weeks: 28 - 29 MM

At the 15 week appointment I already had to push for a 2 week follow-up appointment, but at 17 weeks they only want to check 4 weeks later (21 weeks). I'm not happy at all.

I don't have any pre-term birth experience (thankfully) but with my first i had one LLETZ and now with my second 2 more so 3 in total. I called private clinics but they do not feel comfortable seeing other hospitals patients. I already logged official feedback due to this and some other things that happened. But curious what the protocol is in your hospital / clinic.

Sorry for the long read, I really keen to hear your opinions.

I’m genuinely unsure whether I should write a letter to my hospital about my care so far, or whether I’m overreacting, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second baby.

Before my first pregnancy, I had 1 LLETZ procedure and carried my child to 39+6 without being considered high risk.

Since then, I’ve had 2 additional LLETZ procedures (3 total), which now puts me at higher risk for cervical insufficiency/preterm labour. Because of that, I’m under the preterm labour clinic and was placed on 400mg progesterone through my fertility clinic.

At my first preterm appointment (13 weeks), my cervical length measured around 2.6–2.8cm. Despite this, they reduced my progesterone from 400mg to 200mg without really explaining why, even when I asked.

At my second appointment (15 weeks), my cervix measured around 2.2–2.4cm. What upset me most was how unconcerned the doctor seemed. I was told that because my first child was born full-term, I could just come back in 3–4 weeks.

That didn’t make sense to me because:

• during my first pregnancy I had only had 1 LLETZ and wasn’t high risk,
• whereas now I’ve had 3 total procedures, which changes my risk profile significantly.

I tried to explain this, but by then the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who made me feel like my concerns were unnecessary.

A few days later, I had another appointment at 15+1 with my consultant, but unfortunately my actual consultant was off sick and I saw a substitute instead. She was quite defensive initially, but eventually agreed to:

• increase my progesterone back to 400mg,
• and move my next appointment from 3 weeks to 2 weeks.

Still, nobody could properly explain why I was initially advised to wait 3–4 weeks purely because my first child was full-term, when my circumstances are very different now.

On top of this, I’ve had repeated bleeding episodes throughout this pregnancy:

• bleeding at 12 weeks,
• more bright red bleeding later that same week,
• a large gush of blood at 13+2,
• more bleeding before my 15-week appointment,
• and then heavy cramping with bleeding again at 16+4.

Thankfully, every time baby has been okay.

What’s really affected me though is how dismissed I’ve felt by some staff during these visits.

One nurse asked me, “Why are you crying?” while I was bleeding and scared about my baby.

Another time, when I went in with cramping and bleeding, a midwife told me: “You know you can book a private scan if you’re worried about the baby.”

That comment really upset me because I wasn’t looking for a reassurance scan “for fun.” I went in because I was worried about the bleeding and wanted medical reassurance that my cervix was closed and the bleeding wasn’t coming from my uterus — something a private scan cannot assess.

Ironically, the kindest doctor I saw was the one who did the most extensive check and he told me I absolutely did the right thing by coming in and that it’s always better to be checked than stay home worrying.

But overall, I’ve started feeling like a burden whenever I seek help, to the point where I avoided going in during later bleeding episodes because I didn’t want to be seen as “the boy who cried wolf.”

I honestly don’t know if I fully trust the hospital anymore. I don’t feel listened to, and I feel like my concerns are often brushed aside despite my history and ongoing symptoms.

I also won’t see my actual consultant until 23 weeks — and that’s only because I specifically asked. Otherwise it would have been 28 weeks.

Would you write a letter expressing concerns about communication and continuity of care? Or would you leave it and hope things improve? I genuinely can’t tell if I’m being too emotional because of hormones and anxiety, or whether my concerns are actually valid.

Sorry for the long read, I really keen to hear your opinions.

I’m genuinely unsure whether I should write a letter to my hospital about my care so far, or whether I’m overreacting, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second baby.

Before my first pregnancy, I had 1 LLETZ procedure and carried my child to 39+6 without being considered high risk.

Since then, I’ve had 2 additional LLETZ procedures (3 total), which now puts me at higher risk for cervical insufficiency/preterm labour. Because of that, I’m under the preterm labour clinic and was placed on 400mg progesterone through my fertility clinic.

At my first preterm appointment (13 weeks), my cervical length measured around 2.6–2.8cm. Despite this, they reduced my progesterone from 400mg to 200mg without really explaining why, even when I asked.

At my second appointment (15 weeks), my cervix measured around 2.2–2.4cm. What upset me most was how unconcerned the doctor seemed. I was told that because my first child was born full-term, I could just come back in 3–4 weeks.

That didn’t make sense to me because:

• during my first pregnancy I had only had 1 LLETZ and wasn’t high risk,
• whereas now I’ve had 3 total procedures, which changes my risk profile significantly.

I tried to explain this, but by then the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who made me feel like my concerns were unnecessary.

A few days later, I had another appointment at 15+1 with my consultant, but unfortunately my actual consultant was off sick and I saw a substitute instead. She was quite defensive initially, but eventually agreed to:

• increase my progesterone back to 400mg,
• and move my next appointment from 3 weeks to 2 weeks.

Still, nobody could properly explain why I was initially advised to wait 3–4 weeks purely because my first child was full-term, when my circumstances are very different now.

On top of this, I’ve had repeated bleeding episodes throughout this pregnancy:

• bleeding at 12 weeks,
• more bright red bleeding later that same week,
• a large gush of blood at 13+2,
• more bleeding before my 15-week appointment,
• and then heavy cramping with bleeding again at 16+4.

Thankfully, every time baby has been okay.

What’s really affected me though is how dismissed I’ve felt by some staff during these visits.

One nurse asked me, “Why are you crying?” while I was bleeding and scared about my baby.

Another time, when I went in with cramping and bleeding, a midwife told me: “You know you can book a private scan if you’re worried about the baby.”

That comment really upset me because I wasn’t looking for a reassurance scan “for fun.” I went in because I was worried about the bleeding and wanted medical reassurance that my cervix was closed and the bleeding wasn’t coming from my uterus — something a private scan cannot assess.

Ironically, the kindest doctor I saw was the one who did the most extensive check and he told me I absolutely did the right thing by coming in and that it’s always better to be checked than stay home worrying.

But overall, I’ve started feeling like a burden whenever I seek help, to the point where I avoided going in during later bleeding episodes because I didn’t want to be seen as “the boy who cried wolf.”

I honestly don’t know if I fully trust the hospital anymore. I don’t feel listened to, and I feel like my concerns are often brushed aside despite my history and ongoing symptoms.

I also won’t see my actual consultant until 23 weeks — and that’s only because I specifically asked. Otherwise it would have been 28 weeks.

Would you write a letter expressing concerns about communication and continuity of care? Or would you leave it and hope things improve? I genuinely can’t tell if I’m being too emotional because of hormones and anxiety, or whether my concerns are actually valid.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice or similar experiences because I’m feeling really overwhelmed right now.

I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant. At my first cervical length measurement at 13 weeks, it was around 2.6–2.8 cm, and I’m already on 200 mg progesterone. At yesterday's check-up, it measured around 2.3–2.4 cm (so below 2.5) the cervix is closed.

The doctor didn’t seem concerned at all and was very casual about it, which honestly didn’t sit right with me. She said that because my first child was born at 39+6, I can just come back in 3–4 weeks. That makes me really uncomfortable. I also asked if I should adjust anything in terms of activity or lifestyle, and they told me I can just live life as normal.

Before my first pregnancy, I had one LLETZ procedure and wasn’t considered high risk. Since then, I’ve had two more, so three in total, which (from what I understand) does put me in a higher risk category now. I tried to explain this, but the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who didn’t really take my concerns seriously.

I’ve been really emotional about it(hormones probably not helping), and I just feel like I’m not being properly heard.

I do have an appointment with my gynecologist/consultant later today to discuss everything. I’ve also found a private clinic that i can book for an extra scan and that measures cervical length. I’m considering pushing for more frequent checks because right now I feel almost forced into just “waiting it out,” which doesn’t feel safe to me.

Has anyone been in a similar situation with a shortened cervix and previous LLETZ procedures? Did you push for more monitoring or a second opinion? How did you advocate for yourself when your concerns weren’t taken seriously?

Any advice or experiences would really help.

Thank you.