I lost my daughter (first and only
pregnancy) at 24w due to PROM possibly
caused from an incompetent cervix. It
happened in 1994. I was in the hospital
for 3 weeks in a Trendelenburg Position
(head down, feet up). I was given
absolutely no hope. I am so grateful I
found this site. I will be getting
married in Feb. 2002 and we will try
(God-willing) to start a family. Even
after all these years I still get
emotional thinking about my experience.
At 19w I experienced sharp, needle-like
pains high in my birth canal. My OB doc
told me it was just "growing pains" and
opted not to do a pelvic exam. (I've
been told by experienced OB MD's that my
PROM could have been prevented if the
cervical dialation was caught early and
treated with strict bedrest and a
cerclage.) The following week I was
moving some boxes and later that day
noticed my underpants were damp. I
thought it was loss of bladder control.
The next night I woke up at 3AM to a
gushing feeling. I panicked when I saw a
large amt. of pink-tinged mucousy
discharge. At the ER I had a pelvic done
where they gave me devastating news. Not
only had my membranes ruptured and were
buldging, I was dialated 2cm.I had
cultures/bloodwork done (all
negative/normal), started on IV
antibiotics and sent to L&D. A few days
later I was seen by a Perinatologist who
gave me two options. Either I could go
home until that "magical" 24w mark then
come back and get readmitted, or stay in
a Trendelenburg position at the
hospital. I wanted to do whatever I
could to save my baby so I stayed. The
time I spent in the hospital was
emotional torture. I did not want to
make even slight body movements while in
bed because I could feel the replenished
amniotic fluid running out. I was pretty
much told that I am just prolonging the
inevitable-that even if the pregnancy
progresses full term the baby probaly
would not be able to breath on her own
and have all sorts of medical
complications. But I wasn't giving up. I
knew she was a strong baby. Her daddy is
a marathon runner and I was in excellent
health. At 24w I spiked a temp (fever),
started feeling those sharp, needle like
pains in my birth canal (cervical
changes) and had bright red bleeding. I
was induced, had a long, hard labor
(another sad story) and ended up
delivering a very beautiful(but very
bruised) baby girl who I named Kathryn.
When (and if) I get pregnant again, I
will be followed by an EXPERIENCED
Perinatologist and will electively go on
complete bedrest after the cerclage.
God bless our little angels.
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