By Kimberly, Ashburn. VA USA
PROM at 29 weeksDelivery at 29 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2002-08-22

This was my first pregnancy, and I didn't know that I was in labor. On Friday evening, April 14th, I had a twinge of pain in my lower left abdomen. The baby was 29 weeks gsa. I didn't think anything of it, until the next morning, when the pain continued. I called my OB, and was told that it was probably ligament stretching. I was high-risk with three uterine fibroids, (and the DRs had been monitoring the baby's and the uterine's growth by ultrasound, every four weeks and told me that all was well) and yet my call with pain was dismissed with orders to take Tylenol for the pain, and soak in a warm tub, or to take a shower. I followed orders, hoping that the RN was correct. I didn't know that I was leaking. On Sunday, the pain was unbearable, but I thought I could hang on until Monday morning to see the doctor. I had been getting up to urinate, or so I thought, but was really leaking amniotic fluid. I was on the couch sleeping through the pain the entire day, then at 1 a.m. Monday morning, I went to bed. Once I lay down in bed, my water broke, and I thought that I had the worst urinary tract infection. There was fluid and blood and we knew something was terribly wrong. So, my husband and I called the DRs office to tell them that we were on the way to the hospital. After four hours of the nurses trying to stop the contractions, and checking my cervix for progress, I continued to leak fluid. I was dialated to 3 cm and the fluid only tested as amniotic fluid once my doctor arrived. She did an ultrasound to show that I had no fluid left in my uterus and the baby had to be delivered immediately. As the baby had been under stress this whole time, I chose to have an emergency C-section, hoping against hope that my child would live. The doctor's thought that I had an infection, because my white blood cell count was so high. So, they gave me antibiotics and a spinal, and allowed me to stay awake for his birth. At 06:14 a.m., 29 weeks 3 days gsa, our son Noah was born, with a cries that I will never forget. I thanked God for his birth and his cries. (The nurse told me that he would not cry aloud, as he was too young.) Noah weighed 2lbs. 14 oz. and was 15 1/2 inches long. I knew that he was a fighter from his cries. He endured 60 days of hospitalization in the NICU, to survive an overdose of unnecesary antibiotics,(My placenta tested infection free!), which lead to blood in his urine, breathing problems, jaundice, and the struggle to gain weight from my breast milk and preemie formula. When Noah came home, we were thankful to have our child home, healthy just needing time to grow and develop. Noah is now almost 2 1/2 yrs old. He is smart and funny, and healthy. And, we are blessed to have a child in our life. My husband and I would like another child, but I don't think that I can bear the emotions of having another child so early, and all that the child must endure. I feel that the only reason that we have Noah is because God was with us. I have no faith in my OB, it was as if the docs and nurses were clueless, and all of the pain that I associate with this birth was at their hands. So, I found a specialist who recommended that I not have surgery to remove the fibroids, as this would certainly weaken my uterus. Having another child would mean that I place my trust in God and this new doc, who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. Am I crazy for even thinking of having another child? I am still looking for answers and have hope.