By Victoria, Penmaenmawr United Kingdom
PROM at 21 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 25 weeks + 6 days.
Story added: 2011-04-23

My waters broke at 21 weeks and 6 days, for no obvious reason. They told me I had to terminate, they told me this over and over again, and that he had no chance of survival. They said his lungs would not develop now at all.I refused. My baby still had a heartbeat and was still kicking me, so I refused. When I got to 23 weeks, they transferred me to a unit with a NICU that would be willing to try and save him at 23 weeks. I stayed in hospital from my prom date onwards.

I had around 1-2 cm of fluid the entire time, and constantly leaked. I stayed on bed rest and drank at least 1 gallon of water a day.

I took antibiotics for the entire time, until they stopped them randomly, 3 days later I went into labour. I had no idea I was in labour at all, and ignored it for over a day. I had only bad back ache, no contractions. Eventually they did a speculum and told me they saw hair. Gideon was born a couple of hours later. He was born fighting, he breathed by himself and he cried, they vented him after a couple of tries. He was 1 lb 15oz.

Gideon survived 17 days in NICU, his lungs were fine, if a little small, and he came off his vent a couple of times for a while but tired out. He unfortunately had a grade 3 brain hemmorhage which caused seizures, he then caught an infection and died in my arms at 17 days old.

Gideon did not die from the immediate effects of prom, he did not have tiny lungs like I was told he would, if he hadn't had a brain hemmorhage, which can happen to any prem baby, I truly believe he would've survived, even with the infection. He was unlucky in many ways, but I got 17 days with him and he was an amazing baby. I would do it all again, even if I knew the outcome, even with all the pain.