I gave birth to a perfect full term
baby boy in February of 1997. I got
pregnant with our second child 14
months later. The first half of the
pregnancy was effortless and healthy.
Then when I was almost 20 weeks
pregnant I began to bleed and cramp.
The doctors tested for infection and
did an ultrasound and could find
nothing wrong. As a precaution I was
put on bedrest. Three days later when I
was exactly 20 weeks pregnant, my
membranes ruptured as I was walking out
of the bathroom. I was terrified. My
mom rushed me to the hospital and my
husband met me there. An ultrasound
showed that the rupture had been so
great that there was no amniotic fluid
left at all. We were encouraged to
induce labor due to the early
gestational age of our baby, the risk
of infection, and the lack of fluid. I
wasn't ready to give up hope, so we
decided to wait two more days to see if
our baby could produce more fluid than
I lost and reaccumulate a small amount,
giving her at least a small chance of
survival.
Two days later, a second ultrasound
showed that not a single pocket of
fluid had reaccumulated. We met with
two neonatologists and two OB doctors
and they all told us the same thing.
If the amniotic fluid does not
reaccumulate in 48 hours, that means it
isn't going to.
With no fluid, our baby's lungs would
be unable to develop past their current
20 week stage of development, and no
matter how long I carried the baby, she
would have no chance of survival
outside the womb. With this knowledge,
we made the agonizing decision to
induce labor. Our perfect baby girl
died as she was being born on August
30, 1998. Our lives have been forever
changed by this shattering loss. We
named our baby Cara Elizabeth, which
means "beloved child dedicated to
God." I know that occasionally early
PROMS like mine can have successful
outcomes if there is some fluid left or
that reaccumulates. I am wondering if
anyone out there has heard of or
experienced a very early PROM with NO
FLUID LEFT that resulted in a surviving
baby.
I am currently mired in the
"bargaining" stage of grief where I
wonder if there was anything I could
have done differently, and this is a
question that haunts me. I rejoice with
those of you who have had healthy
miracle PROM babies, and to those of
you with stories like mine, God has
given us this promise:
"Jesus said, 'Let the little
children come unto me and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs
to such as these.'"
Matthew 19:14
Renate
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