By Heather Barrow, Tampa, Fl USAHi everyone, my name is Heather Barrow and here is our story. I apologize in advance for the length but I figured it might eat up some time for those of you in the hospital:) I refer to everything as “We” below because my husband Bennett did as much work, if not more, to ensure the healthy delivery of our baby. He was so strong for both of us, our baby and our daughter through out this time and I am so lucky and blessed to have him.
PROM at 24 weeks + 3 days. Delivery at 32 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2009-05-29
This was my second pregnancy. I had a daughter in December of 2008 at 39w4d, no problems or complications. I noticed a small amount of fluid leaking on 2/16/09 (I was 24w3d) and called the DR because I knew something wasn't right. Bennett and I went to the hospital where they confirmed I had ruptured. They admitted me to L&D and I and started having contractions immediately. They gave me Terbuteline (sp?) in order to try to get the 48hours of steroids on board and started me on IV antibiotics. The Dr's were positive would deliver within 48 hours and were very grim about my baby's survival chances. They told us all of the horrible statistics (90% go into labor with-in 48 hours, infection, placental abruption, cord prolapse, etc.). We also had a consult with a neonatologist the first day and L&D and heard how sick our son would be, “if he survived at all”, if he were born at 24 weeks.
We met with our pastor that day and we decided that God was in control of our future and refused to listen to the negative reports from the doctors. We had a choice to be fearful, upset and stressed out; or to have hope and faith that everything would turn out positively and this experience will be positive in the end for our family. We decided from day 1 that being stressed out and negative was not good for the baby and would not help me to keep him in longer and to try to see the positives every day. The first day while we were in L&D we realized that we were supposed to leave for vacation that very day in the Cayman Islands. Thankfully, this had happened at home or we would have been stuck in the Caymans until after the delivery. I can’t imagine their hospital has a high-risk OB unit, or a level III NICU. Not to mention the support of our friends and family. We thanked God that we were home when it happened!
I was on 100% hospital bed rest for 8 weeks and 2 days; I could get up once a day to use the bathroom and every 2 or 3 days for a 3-minute shower. Bennett did everything from bringing me lunch to helping me brush my teeth in bed. I had one hour monitoring sessions 2X a day and weekly ultrasounds. The monitoring sessions were great at first because we got to hear Hill’s heartbeat. They became stressful very quickly as I would have too many contractions or Hill’s heart rate would decelerate due to him rolling briefly on his cord. The bed rest was the hardest thing I have ever done (or will ever do) because it meant I could only see my daughter for about an hour each day. Luckily we live within 15 minutes of a wonderful hospital so Bennett was able to be at the hospital constantly and our family and friends were able to take care of Claire (my daughter). Our friends and family were amazing and organized someone to bring us a home-cooked meal every night in the hospital and prayed for us constantly.
Our son, Hill, always looked great on the monitor but his fluid level never went above an AFI of 5. It ranged from 0-5AFI, staying usually around 2. All of his fluid was also usually around his feet, which I can't imagine did his lungs much good:) I also leaked 24 hours a day throughout the entire 8 weeks. We had a couple of scares and were sent to L&D but always made it back up to the high-risk floor, where the nurses and doctors were wonderful.
My son was also breech the entire time, which was a big reason for the complete bed rest due to cord prolapse. The thought of cord prolapse was very difficult for me since I never knew how he was between the monitoring sessions. We had mixed feelings of wanting him to stay in as long as possible and concern that his environment was so stressful.
We were scheduled for a C-Section on 4/22 when he would have been 34 weeks and I went into labor on 4/15, at 33 weeks. I had an emergency C-section when my contractions were about 2 minutes apart. There were at least 15 Drs in the room between the OBs and neonatal team. We had prayed for the best doctors and nurses to be on call if we went into labor and the neonatologist who had started the NICU at our hospital happened to be on call that day-God is good:) My son, was born at 4lbs 13.5OZ screaming at the top of his lungs. He was perfect and absolutely beautiful! He never needed any breathing support at all. The respiratory team in the delivery room just sort of stood around and watched:) He stayed in the NICU for 2 weeks to learn how to feed and had to go under the lights for 48 hours due to jaundice but had no other issues at all.
Hill is 6 weeks old now (5/29) and is a completely normal newborn baby. He is around 7 pounds and actually already rolled over twice from his tummy to back this past weekend.
For those of you currently on bed rest - Never ever give up on your precious baby, no matter when you ruptured, or how long you are on bed rest. God is in control of each of your lives and has a plan for your baby and family. My entire stay at the hospital I would try to visualize him as a normal baby and just wanted to be on the other side of this. Whenever I would get a bad report from the doctor I would imagine the story our pastor would tell of this miracle at Hill’s Baptism. I kept a journal of my feelings, issues going on with the baby and with a prayer list, so I could look back at how far we had come each day and week. My prayer list of course had very important things like “please keep Hill safe make him able to breath on his own” but also small things like, “can I please go into labor on a shower day” (which I did!) I checked off each prayer as they were answered.
We also tried to use our time in the hospital to be a positive influence on the nurses, doctors, techs, housekeeping staff and other workers. We were always kind to everyone and would have a party for the staff for every big milestone (26 weeks, 28w, 32w, 34). Nothing fancy, cake one time, bagels another. We happened to be 32 weeks around Easter so we provided Easter lunch for the nurses working that day. I feel like all of the positive energy we put out, came back to us multiplied in many different ways, and is still coming back to us. The nurses also loved us and sent us home with a bedpan signed by everyone. We have it up in our bathroom to remind ourselves of that time and what we overcame.
Most importantly, we would pray constantly when we felt stressed or discouraged and Bennett would write daily bible quotes on our dry erase board based on how we were feeling. I wanted to post my favorites for you in the hopes that it might encourage someone else who is having a bad day.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Hebrews 11:1
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” Proverbs 17:22
“Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” Proverbs 16:9
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him; and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 5:36
Finally…my Favorite one that we put on Hill’s birth announcement:
“We prayed for this child and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him” Samuel 1:27
If anyone has any questions or would like to talk, feel free to email me at heather.barrow@hotmail.com or my husband at barrobh0@hotmail.com