Should I take bed rest for soft cervix during pregnancy?

Question

Hello doctor,

My age is 31 years and weight is 143 lbs. I have 4 years 3 months old son. In my first pregnancy, I did not have any complications until my delivery date. Regarding my cervical length or cervix softness, no other issues. My delivery type was C-section first time. Now I am five months pregnant and my doctor did PV and told that I m having a soft cervix and advised me to take bed rest till the eighth month and suggested me to take Hydroxyprogesterone (maintenance 500 mg) for every 15 days till the eighth month and told to take tablet Optogest 200 mg daily twice. I climb about 30 steps in the morning and evening. So is it advisable to work for at least six hours for one more month and then take rest for remaining three months (that is for seventh, eighth and ninth months)?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I do not see any reason for rest. What your doctor is worried is about cervical insufficiency or incompetence. This condition can be diagnosed only by seeing a cervical length of less than 0.9 inch with funneling of the internal OS (internal orifice) or by a history of previous painless delivery. I do not see any of these in your history. In present pregnancy too, I do not see any risk factors. Every pregnant uterus will have a soft cervix. This does not mean that it has incompetence. Your cervical length has always been more than 3 cm. You can follow the advice of having those medications. They keep the uterus silent and will prevent any sudden progress of pain. You can definitely work, avoid too much physical stress and avoid any infections like urinary infection (avoid filthy public toilets, have a lot of water and do not hold back urine for long), respiratory infection (keep away from people with fever, cold), gastrointestinal infections (avoid unhygienic food) at 28 weeks. Have a glucose challenge test to rule out pregnancy induced diabetes. Better not to use progestins for too long. They can cause mild growth restrictions. You can definitely have a routine regular life. After all, pregnancy is not a disease. All the best.