This was my first pregnancy, and I
didn't know that I was in labor. On
Friday evening, April 14th, I had a
twinge of pain in my lower left abdomen.
The baby was 29 weeks gsa. I didn't
think anything of it, until the next
morning, when the pain continued. I
called my OB, and was told that it was
probably ligament stretching. I was
high-risk with three uterine fibroids,
(and the DRs had been monitoring the
baby's and the uterine's growth by
ultrasound, every four weeks and told me
that all was well) and yet my call with
pain was dismissed with orders to take
Tylenol for the pain, and soak in a warm
tub, or to take a shower. I followed
orders, hoping that the RN was correct.
I didn't know that I was leaking. On
Sunday, the pain was unbearable, but I
thought I could hang on until Monday
morning to see the doctor. I had been
getting up to urinate, or so I thought,
but was really leaking amniotic fluid.
I was on the couch sleeping through the
pain the entire day, then at 1 a.m.
Monday morning, I went to bed. Once I
lay down in bed, my water broke, and I
thought that I had the worst urinary
tract infection. There was fluid and
blood and we knew something was terribly
wrong. So, my husband and I called the
DRs office to tell them that we were on
the way to the hospital. After four
hours of the nurses trying to stop the
contractions, and checking my cervix
for progress, I continued to leak fluid.
I was dialated to 3 cm and the fluid
only tested as amniotic fluid once my
doctor arrived. She did an ultrasound
to show that I had no fluid left in my
uterus and the baby had to be delivered
immediately. As the baby had been under
stress this whole time, I chose to have
an emergency C-section, hoping against
hope that my child would live. The
doctor's thought that I had an
infection, because my white blood cell
count was so high. So, they gave me
antibiotics and a spinal, and allowed me
to stay awake for his birth. At 06:14
a.m., 29 weeks 3 days gsa, our son Noah
was born, with a cries that I will never
forget. I thanked God for his birth and
his cries. (The nurse told me that he
would not cry aloud, as he was too
young.) Noah weighed 2lbs. 14 oz. and
was 15 1/2 inches long. I knew that he
was a fighter from his cries. He
endured 60 days of hospitalization in
the NICU, to survive an overdose of
unnecesary antibiotics,(My placenta
tested infection free!), which lead to
blood in his urine, breathing problems,
jaundice, and the struggle to gain
weight from my breast milk and preemie
formula. When Noah came home, we were
thankful to have our child home, healthy
just needing time to grow and develop.
Noah is now almost 2 1/2 yrs old. He
is smart and funny, and healthy. And,
we are blessed to have a child in our
life. My husband and I would like
another child, but I don't think that I
can bear the emotions of having another
child so early, and all that the child
must endure. I feel that the only reason
that we have Noah is because God was
with us. I have no faith in my OB, it
was as if the docs and nurses were
clueless, and all of the pain that I
associate with this birth was at their
hands. So, I found a specialist who
recommended that I not have surgery to
remove the fibroids, as this would
certainly weaken my uterus. Having
another child would mean that I place my
trust in God and this new doc, who
specializes in high-risk pregnancies.
Am I crazy for even thinking of having
another child? I am still looking for
answers and have hope.
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