I became pregnant in May, 1996. I
started having a little spotting early
on, so in week 7 I went to a doctor to
check whether everything was normal. He
performed an US, and told us that
everything looked fine - and we were
expecting twins. Imagine our surprise!
I was very tired during the first
trimester, but was lucky enough not to
experience too much morning sickness. As
I reached the second trimester I felt
truly wonderful, and my bulge in the
front started to expand rapidly as the
twins began to grow.
Around w. 20 I accidently noticed that
the cervix had become a bit softer than
it had been before, but I didn't pay
very much attention to this. Two weeks
later I had a doctor's appointment, so
I mentioned this to the doctor. She made
a more thorough internal examination and
agreed that the cervix indeed was
somewhat softened, but firmly closed and
said that this wasn't anything to worry
about for the moment. At the next
appointment she would check me again to
see if anything had changed.
It was five days later. Sunday October
13, and it started out like any other
fall Sunday. The weather was cold and
dreary, so I'd been having a cosy and
relaxing day at home. Then, just as I
took the first step down our staircase,
the water suddenly broke and I got
completely soaked. I was completely
taken by surprise; I had had no signs of
it coming - no pains, no contractions,
no increase in mucus, no nothing. I
immediately realized how serious this
was so I inched down the stairs, and
laid down on the floor. Everything felt
unreal - "this is not happening to me"
- the panic, calling for an ambulance,
my husband trying to pack a bag to bring
along. I hardly dared to breathe of fear
that the babies would be born. After ten
minutes the contractions started - still
no ambulance. With each contraction,
water gushed out ... along with my hope.
I was icy cold and trembling. Another
eternal twenty minutes went by before
the ambulance arrived. It had only
driven three blocks when Emelie was
born. I don't recall very much from the
rest of the ambulance ride - I saw the
neon lights flashing through the windows
and heard the ambulance personnell
struggling to save my daughter. An hour
after his sister, Rasmus was born at the
L&D at the hospital. He also lived for a
short while, but his lungs were just too
immature.
Afterwards, I was checked for infections
and US were performed but all tests were
negative. The children were perfect. One
doctor suggested insufficient cervix,
while others were claiming that that was
highly improbable.
Conclusions? Not really - but if the
cervix starts to soften too early in the
pregnancy it might be a good idea to
insist on being screened for infections,
have US performed, and possibly start
immediate bedrest.
/Eva Mother to Emelie and Rasmus, b&d
Oct. 13 1996 in w. 23
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