By Anne, Dudley, Ma United StatesWhen I found out I was pregnant for the second time, I was so excited! My husband and I had been trying for about 5 months. Due to some infertility problems, we had to use IUI to conceive.
PROM at 18 weeks + 4 days. Delivery at 33 weeks + 1 days.
Story added: 2003-04-05
At 11 weeks, I had some bleeding and horrible cramping. I went to the emergency room of the local hospital and thankfully, and ultrasound showed that my baby was healthy and happy inside of me.
The bleeding stopped by the next day, and I was sure that the rest of my pregnancy would go smoothly.
On December 9, 2002, my whole world changed. I was taking a nap with my son, and I woke up and realised that I was very wet. I assumed that maybe (to my embarrasment) I had wet my pants. I changed my clothes and went back to bed. About 1/2 hour later, I woke up again and I was once again soaked. I called my doctor and asked if it was possible for my water to have broken that early. They told me that it was very possible and to go to the emergency room of the hospital I planned to deliver at.
My husband was at work, and I was home alone with my then 19mo son. I called my mom and she came down to get me. We left my son with his grandfather and went to the hospital. To my surprise, we were not taken up to the labor and delivery floor, we were seen in the ER. After about 3 hours of waiting, we finally got to see a doctor. They did a fern test, which was negative. Then they did an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a reduced amount of amniotic fluid. The doctor sent me home with the instructions to go see my doctor the following day for a more in depth ultrasound.
When I saw my doctor the next day, the ultrasound showed that I had NO fluid around my baby. When I spoke with the doctor, she told me that I should terminate my pregnancy because most babies deliver within 2 weeks of a PROM anyway. And, my fluid would not reseal and without fluid, my baby's lungs would not develop, so even if I did carry to viability, my baby would still die due to not having working lungs (pulmonary hypoplasia). The ultrasound also showed indicators of cystic fibrosis and downs syndrome. She decided to send me to a perinatologist for a followup to make sure that she was giving me the correct diagnosis.
2 Days later, I had another ultrasound with the Perinatologist. I still had no fluid, however, the tech did not see the signs of cystic fibrosis or downs syndrome. At the consult with the Peri, he told me exactly what my doctor had said. He thought I should terminate. I was devastated. I asked him what my odds were of resealing (>5%). I asked if laying down with my legs in the air would help (no). I asked about an amnioinfusion (too experimental). I asked how long I had to make my decision and he told me that I could wait as long as I wanted, but if I made it to 24 weeks, my baby would be considered viable and they would have to try to save it. I also asked if my baby was in pain, and he told me no.
I went home and did a ton of research. I found this website which gave me so much hope. I decided to keep my baby and let God lead the way.
I saw my ob the next day, and I told her about my decision. She was not happy about the decision, but she was supportive and willing to try. I had to see her every week and take my temp 3x a day to check for infection.
The following week, I had my 'weekly' appointment my OB. She was happy that I did not have an infection and told me to keep up what I was doing. Of course, I was not allowed to work. She asked me if I had any questions, and I asked for an ultrasound just to see how my baby was doing. She squeezed me in for the u/s and to my utter joy and amazement, my baby had some amniotic fluid around it!
As the weeks passed, my fluid level continued to climb. My doctor was amazed, and kept calling my baby a miracle. She did tell me that even if my baby made it to term, I could still lose her cause her lungs may not be developed.
On march 6th, 2003, my water rebroke. I was admitted to the hospital on March 7th at exactly 31 weeks. I was contracting, so I was given magnesium to stop the contractions. Then I was given steroids to help my baby's lungs along.
Two weeks later, I was still pregnant. Again my doctors were amazed because they expected me to go into labor immediately.
On March 17th, (1 week after being admitted to the hospital) my baby started having heartbeat decels. My doctor decided she would induce me at 33.1 weeks on March 22nd, 2003. After a very hard labor and a very difficult deliver involving failed vaccum and a forceps delivery, my daughter came into the world.
She was not breathing at first, her apgar at 1 minute was 2. At 5 minutes it was a 4 and at 10 minutes it was a 7.
Kyra weighed in at 4lbs 14.6oz and was 18 inches long. She didn't need oxygen after they got her breathing.
She is 2 weeks old, and still in the NICU. She should be home within the week. She has no lung problems and is doing amazing for a 33 weeker.
I think about if I had listened to my doctor and terminated her. I wouldn't have such an amazing baby. Please don't give up hope.
My first Prom pregnancy