Successful pregnancy after multiple losses

Has anyone with a severe incompetent cervix had a successful pregnancy after multiple losses? We had a healthy baby girl in 2007, then a miscarriage in June of 2009 at 8 weeks, another in April of 2010 at 6 weeks, and then lost a baby girl at 20 weeks in April of 2011. The doctors discovered that my cervix was majorly damaged by a doctors mistake of stretching me manually 3 cm when I delivered our first child in 2007. I was going into preterm labor so they did an emergency cerclage, was in the hospital for 3 days but the contractions never stopped and the stitch didn't hold and I went into labor and had to deliver our precious baby girl. We are left with the decision of trying again not knowing if my cervix will hold up through the entire pregnancy. I've seen some HROB doctors and they recommend putting the cerclage in earlier around 12 weeks with weekly monitoring but I know there is no guarantee and emotionally we can't go through losing this far along again. Way too painful to deliver her, hold her and have to say goodbye. The hardest part of it all is that she was perfectly healthy and would have been fine had it not been for my cervix issue. I appreciate any one sharing who has a similar story. Desperately want another child but undecided whether to try again or not.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
I am so sorry to hear about all this, and naturally it is very traumatic. Emergency cervical circlage operations usually fail, but are undertaken as a last attempt to save the baby.  Since you are having early abortions, apart from lax cervix you need to rule out other causes of miscarriage such as fetal abnormality, genetic causes, Rh blood group incompatibility, low progesterone hormone, infection of the uterus, endometriosis, fibroids, diabetes, eclampsia, preeclampsia, etc as the cause of abortion. Your doctor is right, going for an elective cervical circlage at 10-12 weeks will have more chances of success. Along with complete bed rest, elevated legs to lift the pressure off the cervix, and careful monitoring, term pregnancy is possible. Do discuss with your gynecologist. Take care!