When Rachel was 18 weeks pregnant, we went to what we thought would be a routine checkup and discovered she was already 2 cm dilated. It turned out she had “cervical insufficiency,” a condition that causes the cervix to open too early during pregnancy and typically leads to pregnancy loss.

As of now, there is no way of diagnosing a weak cervix before pregnancy, and the main available “treatment” is a cerclage, which consists of placing a stitch in the cervix to keep it closed. When a cerclage is placed as a preventative measure (which only happens after a woman has already lost a pregnancy or has a history of preterm birth), it can be effective. However, when placed as an emergency procedure (as it was in Rachel’s case), its efficacy is extremely limited. We were lucky enough to have a wonderful and skilled doctor who was able to place a cerclage and give Annabella and Barak a chance of making it to viability. The medical care we received gave us four more weeks with our twins, but on October 27, 2023 – at 22 weeks – Annabella was born. She was alive, but died shortly after birth in our arms. The following day Barak was stillborn. Preterm birth, as we learned firsthand, is a risk not just for the baby, but for the mother as well. We had the privilege and luck of receiving superior medical care, but not all mothers are so fortunate.

We have been shocked to discover that a cerclage remains one of only two available interventions for preterm birth and that the technique hasn’t changed since the 1950s. There has been very little research focused on the maternal side of preterm birth, but The Iris Fund is dedicated to better understanding (and therefore preventing) preterm labor and birth – not just to improve outcomes for babies and children, but to reduce life-threatening risks to mothers, as well. We are committed to supporting The Iris Fund’s efforts in the hope that one day stories like ours will be a thing of the past.