O.k after reading about everyone giving high reviews about the home uterine motintoring of contractions I have a couple of questions. I am 12 weeks pregnant and very paranoid. I have one healthy boy but after him I have lost three babies. I am always fearing that something is wrong, but so far so good. I did get a cerclage at 10 weeks.
Excuse the ignorant questions:
Will I know that I am having contractions? With a cerclage, won't I bleed if I have contractions?
Is it too early to request to be monitored?
Did anyone have monitoring that had a PPO insurance plan?
What and how exactly does the monitoring work?
Thanks,
Meli

Meli
Elijah-4yrs. old
Spontaneous BBB triplets born at 34.3 weeks 6-8-04
Adam- 5lbs 11 oz. 18.5 inches
Ryan- 4lbs 6 oz. 17.75 inches
Joshua- 5lbs 17 inches

I can't answer all of your questions, which BTW none of them were ignorant, but I can descibe uterine monitoring. Someone will come to your house and set up this computer thingy that is hooked to the phone line. I monitored 2 times a day an hour each time. I had to put this elastic velco strap around my belly and on it was a toco sensor that did the actual monitoring. The sensor told the computer thingy when I was having contractions. At the end of each session the computer thingy would autimatically send the session to a nurse who looked at it and reported back to me how it went.
My monitoring company had a tv that I could watch to see when I was having contractions or irritability. Otherwise, I might not have known that I was having contractions.
I started monitoring around 22 weeks, but they may be later than normal since we did not know it was triplets until 19 weeks.
Good luck and I hope some other folks can answer your other questions and maybe describe the uterine monitoring better.

Anna -- Mama to
Kelsey, Brooke, and Drew
born 1/23/03 at 36 wks

The above poster described the process pretty well.
I was on HUAM from week 17 till delivery at 34 weeks.
I too monitored 2 times a day, sometimes more if my uterine irratibility was high.. I always had to drink a glass of water and lay on my left side during monitoring. Make sure you know what your contraction theshold is so let's say you dr. orders no more than 4 contractions in an hour, and your monitoring session shows more, alert the nurse(if she does not alert you) they will probably have you drink another glass of water and monitor again, if you go over again.. They will instruct you to do to L&D or your dr's office, they will also call/page your dr.
don't panic if you are having contractions, just CONFIRM THE type of contractions, real contractions, irratability or little BH contractions. They will also tell you/show you baby's kicks, etc..
my nurse called me back within 15-20 min of transmission, they also had a web-site you could log onto and view the contraction data.. very cool.. My insurance is a POS , and my ins co assigned a nurse case manager to me, they supported/agreed to all dr's orders, incl weekly visits, HUAM, and a fetal echo, when I declined an amnio.. The ins nurse called once a week to discuss my pregnancy, care, etc..

sorry don't have any info on cerclage.. did not have one..

good luck with your pregnancy.

Lisa mom to Melanie(23)
Guillermo,Jonathan,William (2 yrs old)

Lisa mom to Melanie(28)
Guillermo,Jonathan,William(10.9.01 @34 weeks)

I concure with the the above. My monitoring doesn't have a home component like the others describe. I just strap the thing on and then phone it in. They call me back with the results. I don't have anything to see for myself - but that would be great if it's an option for you. I usually don't know when I am having contractions. I've been monitoring since 18 weeks. I've been to the hospital twice becuase I had too many contractions and couldn't make them come down with water and left side rest.

The times I've been to the hosptial my hubby and I look at the monitor and it helps educate me on how to know when I am having a contraction. That's why I would recomend getting that home screen thing if you can get it. I have two other children and I can tell you these early contractions with the triplets are nothing like the contractions I had with my singleton.

I didn't have a cercalge so I can't offer any thing about that.

Froggy