My pregnancy was achieved through In
Vitro Fertilization in January 2004.
I was diagnosed with a subchorionic
hematoma/bleed at 11 weeks. I bled on
and off for about 5 weeks, and had to
stay at home on bed rest during this
time. The hematoma resolved itself at
16 weeks.
At 24 weeks and 6 days along, I was
returning home from work when I felt a
small gush of fluid. I thought maybe
it was urine or something. About 3
hours later while sitting down I felt
a big gush of fluid that went through
my clothing. This scared me enough to
call my OB.
My OB said that it sounded like my
water broke and that I should go to
the labor and delivery department of
the hospital and be prepared to be
admitted. I was so scared of losing
my baby. I had a previous miscarriage
at 18 weeks, but the cause was never
known.
I got to the hospital where they did a
fern test and one other test (can't
remember the name of it) to make sure
that it was amniotic fluid I was
leaking. They both tested positive.
I did not have any contractions at
this time. I was told that there was
a 90% chance that I would deliver
within 48-72 hours and that the
chances of the baby surviving without
major problems were grim. My amniotic
fluid index (AFI) was around 8.5 at
this point. I received 2 steroid
shots within a 24 hour period to help
with fetal lung maturity.
I was admitted to the hospital in the
anti-partem unit where I remained on
bed rest for the next 11 weeks. I was
allowed to get up only to use the
bathroom daily and to shower about
once a week in a shower chair. I had
ultrasounds done daily which including
measuring the AFI and daily
Biophysical profiles (BPP). They also
did non stress tests daily to check
for accelerations/decelerations and
contractions. My AFI's ranged from a
low of 5 to a high of 7 during the
rest of my stay in the hospital.
There was always a pocket of fluid
which measured at least 2 cm, which I
was told (and researched) was good. I
had 3 liters of fluid pumped into me
daily through an IV which I believe
helped to replenish and maintain my
amniotic fluid levels.
At around 33 weeks, my OB started
testing my amniotic fluid for fetal
lung maturity, which I was able to
catch samples of in a cup due to the
constant leaking. This was checked at
leat 3 times up until 35 weeks, and
always came back negative, which
scared me.
On September 2nd I started having some
pink spotting. My OB said that this
was probably due to chenges in the
cervix and that meant that I would
probably be delivering soon. The baby
was faced head down all along so I was
expecting a vaginal delivery.
On September 7th at 2:00am I started
having contractions. I also felt
several big gushes of fluid.The
contractions came fast and furious and
within an hour I was in active labor.
The non stress test showed my baby'
heartbeat was not tolerating labor
very well so my OB opted to do an
emergency C-section. I was also told
that I had a fever of 102 degrees and
that an infection was probably what
caused me to go into labor.
My miracle son Matthew Ryan was born
on September 7th weighing 4 pounds
13oz. He came out crying and was
breathing room air right from the
start. He spent 7 days in the NICU
before coming home on September
13th. He was placed on a medication
called Zantac for acid reflux, but
other than that he is doing great! He
has been home for 5 days now and
weighs 5 lbs 3oz.
I know my story is a bit uncommon in
that I lasted 10 weeks with PROM, but
I wanted others to know there is
hope. I prayed a lot while in that
hospital and luckily had access to a
lap top and this website where I read
all of your PROM stories daily. Your
stories gave me inspiration. Please
feel free to e-mail me if you have any
questions or would like to chat. I
did a lot of reserach on PROM while in
the hospital and realize that I was
extremely lucky to have lasted so long
with PROM. Even my doctors said they
were amazed at my progress. I feel so
blessed.
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