While I was on bedrest I read these
stories over and over hoping that one
day I would be able to post my happy
story. I am delighted to say (after
some rough spots) I can!
At 17 weeks I woke up from napping on
the couch with my underpants wet. At
first I thought I "wet" my pants, but I
kept leaking some clear fluid that
didn't seem like urine. I called my OB
and had them page the Dr. on call. It
wasn't my normal Dr. and she very
abruptly told me to go to the hospital,
straight to the maternity floor, she
would tell them I was coming. She
basically said if it is amniotic fluid,
that is a very bad sign.
At the hospital they did an ultrasound
and the litmus test. Both came out
fine, so they sent me home. I went on
bedrest and only got up to go to the
Dr., the bathroom, and showers every
other day. It was so hard and I was so
worried about the baby. I saw a
maternal fetal specialist and my
regular OB. They both told me that the
chances weren't very good and I could
terminate the pregancy or they could
induce. It was a heartwrenching
decision. My husband and I decided
that if there was any chance that this
baby would be okay we just had to give
this baby that chance.
My AFI ranged from 2.5 all the way up
to 12. I would stop leaking for a few
days, and then start all over again.
Finally, at 26 weeks after 2 months on
the couch my AFI dropped back down to 4
and I was admitted to the hospital. I
received steroids and antibiotics(i
never showed signs of an infection). I
was consistently monitored and
occasionally given shots of terbutaline
for contractions that I never felt.
The baby always looked great and had a
very strong heartrate.
At 28 weeks I went into labor and was
given an epideral (which I highly
recommend!) It was a girl weighting
2lbs 9oz and we named her Camilla
Catherine. She was soo tiny and wasn't
breathing on her own. She had to be
resuscitated and put on the Jet Vent.
It turned out that I had a very unusual
problem called placenta increta where
the placenta is embedded in the wall of
your uterus. None of the doctors in the
entire hospital had actually seen it
before. They don't think it caused my
PROM, but I think they must some how be
related. They never diagnosed the
cause of my PROM.
Camilla was in the NICU for 10 weeks,
but for the most part she gradually got
better and better with only a few
setbacks. It was such a stressful
time, but Camilla is doing wonderful
now. Developmentally, she is more in
line with her adjusted age (the day she
was supposed to born) and she has
physical therapy 2x a month to monitor
her development, but she isn't on any
medication. Even the NICU doctors say
they can't tell she is a preemie. We
don't know if issues may arise later,
but either way we feel amazingly lucky
to have her in our lives. Last week we
celebrated her 1st birthday!
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