A Dublin woman has spoken of her heartbreak after she lost her baby at just 20 weeks due to a cervical issue.
Sangeeta Sewani, 32, was devastated when her baby son, Aryan, died after she was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. An incompetent cervix, also known as cervical insufficiency, occurs when weak cervical tissue causes or contributes to premature birth or the loss of an otherwise healthy pregnancy.
On July 2, Sangeeta's water broke at just 20 weeks. She told Dublin Live: "I was in so much pain during the birth. I kept praying to God please give me a chance to save my son.
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"He managed to survive for 45 minutes after the birth. My husband and I tried to spend as much time as we could with him."
Just a few weeks ago Sangeeta and her husband Vishal had been looking forward to welcoming Aryan. Things were finally falling into place for the happy couple.
The pair had been married for seven years, Sangeeta's pregnancy had been going smoothly, and they had finally bought a house. They had plenty of clothes and toys ready for little Aryan when he arrived. Everything was perfect.
But little did she know her first pregnancy would end in a terrifying nightmare.
She said: "Everytime I visited the hospital my midwife and doctor said, 'The baby is very healthy, you’re perfect'. I had a very smooth pregnancy so I never had a clue that I might lose my baby in the second trimester."
On June 17, Sangeeta had an appointment with her consultant who told her the baby was growing perfectly fine. But things took a sudden turn in the early hours of June 29 when she woke up to find herself bleeding.
Sangeeta and her husband rushed to hospital where she had to undergo an ultrasound. She said: "The midwife and doctor said the baby is perfectly fine. I saw the scan I was relieved that the baby is fine but the doctor was confused and told me they will call another surgeon to check the reason for the bleeding."
But Sangeeta's world came crumbling down after a second doctor did a cervix check. She saw a moment of confusion and fear on his face and she knew there was a problem.
She said: "At 20 weeks, I was told I am dilated, nearly fully effaced, and it seemed like I was about to go into labour." Sangeeta was told she had an incompetent cervix which meant her cervix had opened under the weight of the developing baby.
She said: "He explained to me that they can try to do a rescue cerclage and will try to place stitches in my cervix if possible. He told me that I might lose my baby any minute as my cervix is open.
"We decided we were going to fight with everything we had to give our baby boy a chance to live, and we went ahead with the surgery. But I didn’t have the chance to undergo surgery as it was too late and there was no cervix left. The doctors recommended bedrest."
Four days later Sangeeta woke up suddenly after her water broke. "The next few hours were the most physically and emotionally painful of my life. The moment he was born was both the most amazing and most devastating moment I have ever experienced."
Aryan Tekwani lived for 45 minutes. Sangeeta tearfully recalled: "We held him for two whole hours, studying his little button nose, his sweet lips, his 10 fingers, and his toes.
"I was in so much pain. My placenta was still in my body. They had to pull it out with their hands."
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In a further devastating turn of events, Vishal was diagnosed with Covid-19 on the day of her delivery. "He had to go home and I had to spend that night alone in the hospital which was torture for both of us."
Sangeeta wants her story to be a warning to first-time mums who may not have heard about cervical insufficiency. She said: "Around 18 weeks of pregnancy, I began experiencing some symptoms associated with a weak cervix. When I called the emergency department, I was told these were likely typical pregnancy symptoms and to monitor for bleeding or abdominal cramping.
"Women should feel comfortable advocating for themselves and asking as many questions as they need to during their pregnancy. We hope that our painful story can raise awareness about cervical insufficiency and prevent other couples from experiencing the heartbreaking loss that we endured."
Tests to help diagnose an incompetent cervix during the second trimester include transvaginal ultrasounds, pelvic exams, and lab tests, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The HSE told Dublin Live the risk for an incompetent cervix includes a history of preterm delivery or previous surgery on the cervix where a significant amount of tissue was removed.
A spokeswoman said: "In obstetrical practice, a history is taken and for those deemed at risk of preterm birth a scan of the cervix is done to evaluate the length of the cervix. There are some specialised pre-term birth clinics where those patients are followed up.
"For some women who have a significant enough risk, i.e, a combination of history and/or signs of a shortened cervix on the scan, then an intervention called a cervical cerclage may be recommended. This is a special stitch put in the cervix in pregnancy.
"For some women who have had surgery on the cervix that is thought to shorten it quite considerably, a cervical cerclage is sometimes done prior to becoming pregnant –prophylactically."
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