This was my fifth pregnancy. All
previous were uneventful. I am usually
an active, energetic, very busy person.
At week 12, my family and I had flown
to London. The first day, we walked
several miles and then stopped to have
dinner. I had a huge gush of blood and
ended up hopsitalized with what was
presumed to be a placental infarction.
The bleeding resolved and we continued
on vacation without incident. At 15
weeks I had an amnio because I am 40
y/o. The tap was bloody from the prior
infarction. There was no problem, no
leaking. Results came back normal.
I continued with my active life,
running after 4 kids, working and
playing tennis, doing yoga, walking. At
22 + 5 weeks I awoke in the middle of
the night with a huge gush of brownish
fluid. I knew it wasn't urine. I
called the hospital and they told me to
come in asap. My dh was overseas, so I
had to call a friend to come stay with
my kids and take me to the hospital.
When I arrived at triage to labor and
delivery, the leaking had stopped. It
took about two hours before the doc
checked me. There was no pooling of AF,
ferning was negative. The said I
didn't rupture, the fluid was urine
and sent me home. I knew he was wrong.
I went home and cooked breakfast for my
family and then played on the floor
with my toddler. I had another gush,
soaking through underwear, heavy pad,
heavy slacks and carpet. I returned to
triage, another doc was on call, and
again told me it was urine. I was
really upset. They did not listen to
me, ignored the fact I had already had
four kids and I was a physician!
I insisted on being admitted which he
did. He decided to insert a Foley
catheter into my bladder to eliminate
the possibility that the gushes were
urine. Sure enough, that night another
gush with Foley in. They immediately
tested it and it was positive for
ferning.
An ultrasound (US) showed severe lack
of fluid, AFI < 3. I was started on IV
antibiotics and put on bedrest with
only bathroom priv. I stayed in
hospital for nine weeks. They gave me
betamethasone at 24 weeks (2 shots,
twelve hours apart), kept antibiotics
for one week. US weekly to measure AFI -
which varied from 5 to 10. I continued
to leak daily. Other than one false
alarm of contractions, I was stable the
entire time. Occassionally I had a temp
as high as 99.6. My CBC's were normal.
Fetal monitoring was always fine. At
31+2 weeks, I awoke with rectal
pressure which gradually worsened. On
monitor, I started having contractions
every 3-4 hours. I was sent to L and D
and begin to get violently ill, severe
nausea and vomiting, violent shaking
chills for hours, temp up to 102.9.
I delivered a few hours later with just
one push cycle. Baby Blaine came out
crying! We sere so excited, exhausted,
afraid. He weighed 4lbs 3oz and was 17
3/4 inches long. He was briefly on the
vent, on CPAP for the day and then
extubated. He never showed any signs of
infection. He is doing great in the
NICU and we hope to have him home in a
month.
Things I learned from this experience:
1. Trust your body - you will know more
than any doctor, nurse, relative.
2. Insist on your rights as a patient.
Assert your beliefs, strongly if
necessary.
3. Do not let the grim stats sour you -
many of us have had good outcomes.
4. Bedrest is not all bad, I learned
how to play the keyboard, read all of
Shakespeare's tragedies, found long
lost friends, learned who my real
friends are, made incredible bonds with
women experiencing the same thing, and
most of all how to be patient and still.
5. The presence of blood in AF
contaminates the ferning test.
6. Education is key, learn more than
your doctors about what is wrong and
what the options are.
7. Use this forum
8. Be thankful everyday for your
health, your family and your friends.
OK, I am off my soapbox and I am
leaving the hospital today!
Leslie
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