By Emmie Williams, Raeford, NC USA
PROM at 31 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 32 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2004-11-02

(I was being watched by a speciality doctor because of possible incompetent cervix (IC). My PPROM was not due to IC though.) It all started with Braxton Hicks (BH) contractions on a Wednesday that became worse over a couple of days. By Friday I wernt in to get checked out about it because I was feeling pressure with the BH. I went in to L & D and saw a resident. He gave me a full pelvic and was kind of rough. He had me come in the next day on Saturday to check my cervix again - and to give me another pelvic. I was only fingertip to closed, but I cramped for the next three days because of the exam. I spotted only the day after the exam. The entire next week I just felt bad. I was tired and something didn't feel "right." Then on Wednesday (6 days after the first exam) I had brown/red smearing in my panties. A decent amount, but when I called the nurse she said to talk to my doctor about it that day at an appt I already had. My doctor said it was probably from the exam. On Saturday I woke up and thought I peed myself. Well, I continued to "pee" myself for another 5 hours. After having to change my undies a second time I finally went to L & D. They ran tests on me and said it was not my amnoitic fluid, that the baby was lying on my bladder causing me to uncontrollably pee myself. (Keep in mind, I felt no pressure on my bladder and the "urine" would continue to dribble even when I would try to "hold it.") So they sent me home. The next day, Sunday, it almost went completely away, so I figured they must have been right. On Monday it picked up again later in the day. I had enough at this point and went back in to L & D. I ran into my doctor on the way up and he met me at the L & D. I told him what was going on and that I did not think I had been peeing myself for 3 days. Thank God he believed me. The tests came up negative as it beiing amnoitic fluid. But he trusted me so he did an ultrasound and thought my fluid looked low. WE went down to his office at the OB/GYN clinic and he measured my fluid with the ultrasound machine and compared it to the utlrasound I just had 3 weeks before. I had lost 50% of my fluid. He told me to take my son home, and come right back to the hospital. I went back and was admitted to await a dye test in the morning. My doula met me there at the hospital. I went to use the bathroom once in my room and I had a little bloody show. My doula told me to tell my doctor when he came in to check on me. Within a half an hour I started having contractions with rectal pressure. The dr came in and I told him what was going on - back to L & D we went. My water had completely ruptured at this point. My contractions picked up and were 5 minutes apart with growing intensity for 2 hours - and then they stopped. My dr wanted to get steriods in me for the babies lungs and to try to hold off labor until I was 34 weeks. If I went into labor prior to the round of steriods were over, they would give me magnesium to stop the labor. Otherwise, they would just let me go, or induce me at 34 weeks. At 5:30 am on Thursday (4 days later) I was woke up by contractions, but they would not register on the monitor. My nurse thought they were bladder spasms. Another nurse came in to check on me and agreed with me they were contractions not bladder spasms. After having contractions for 12+ hours the nurse that agreed with me managed to slide me into L & D behind the doctors back. I was dialated to 4 and 50% effaced. (Some bladder spasms, heh) They put me in a birthing room but my labor was stalled and infection had set in. There was no telling how long it had been stalled, but they had to give me pitocin because my fever spiked up to 101.7 and the baby's heart rate was skyrocketting 220+. If the pitocin didn't work, we'd have to do an emergency c-section. Finally at 1244 am on Friday, after 19 hours of labor, I gave natural birth to my 4lb 10 ounce and 18 inch little boy. That was on 15 Oct 04. He is still in the NICU as of today, 1 Nov 04, but will hopefully leave by 6 Nov 04. He was born with no health issues other than needing antibiotics because the infection entered his bloodstream. He is just hanging out at the NICU until he has a hang of eating. I am blessed that everything went as well as it did, it could have gone the seriously wrong way. Honestly, a story I read on this website is what caused me to go in. I'm glad I listened to what she said.