2.4 cm

We went in this morning for our follow-up ultrasound, and both of us were a wreck throughout the procedure. We both knew that the ultrasound technician isn't allowed to tell you anything about your scan, so we endured the entire process patiently and then went around the corner to the obstetrician's office to get the results. I cannot even begin to describe our level of tension as we waited to be seen. Luckily, it didn't take too long for us to be called in.

"I have good news" the obstetrician told us. "They just measured your cervix at 2.4 cm!" We were in shock. At this point, we were both bracing ourselves for the worst, and I know that I was already mentally preparing to schedule the induction and tell my parents to get on the next plane out here. But 2.4 cm! That is still short, and still raises my risk of premature labor, but much less than 1 cm does. 3.0 cm is usually considered the cutoff for having a short cervix, although the obstetrician we spoke to said that he personally considered 2.5 cm to be the cutoff, for what it's worth.

So why was my cervix supposedly 1 cm on Tuesday and 2.4 cm today? Nobody can really tell us. The OB said that he does not think it's a case of dynamic cervix, but rather a case of the previous scan being inaccurate or misread. "The radiologist who looked at your scan today is very well respected," he told us, "he literally wrote the textbook on fetal ultrasound, and it's a great big book...I've got it around here somewhere." Having been in academia most of my life, I know all too well that writing a giant textbook is not necessarily any indication of competence, but basically, the OB was saying that we should trust this scan rather than the previous one.

I asked him if a fetal fibronectin test had been done when we were in Labor and Delivery, and it hadn't. I asked if we could do it today, but apparently, you need to wait 24 hours after having a vaginal ultrasound to do one because the ultrasound gel can affect the results. So, I'm going back to L&D tomorrow to have it done, and should get the results later that day. If the test is negative, it means I have less than a 1% chance of delivering in the next two weeks, which would be fantastic for our peace of mind.

We also have another follow-up ultrasound scheduled for Thursday, and hopefully that will give us some further reassurance.

So, we feel tentatively relieved. 2.4 cm is still not ideal, and we still aren't sure exactly which scan we should believe. But right now it feels better than no hope at all.