My first pregnancy was textbook perfect
followed by a full term, healthy baby.
This pregnancy proved to be different…
starting at 8 weeks when I began to spot
blood for unknown reasons. Then at 12
weeks after an ultrasound was performed
and our baby looked great we were
reassured that everything was fine. At
16 weeks and 5 days I noticed a trickle,
my husband and I went to the emergency
department and it became a gush that
when the rollercoaster ride of my life
began.
Over the next few days I had a couple of
ultrasounds and found my AFI was down to
1.8 (when it should be around 15-20).
The doctor that met with us was a High
Risk Pregnancy specialist; he was
compassionate but said there was little
chance that the baby would make it. He
said that while the baby was OK right
now there was not enough fluid for
future growth, and it was very unlikely
that the membrane would reseal. He said
that it was surprising that I had not
gone into labour already, and that there
was only a 10% chance of baby surviving.
If baby did survive there was a high
risk of brain damage, lung development
problems, deformed limbs etc because
there would not be enough fluid for baby
to grow properly. In addition, with a
hole somewhere in the sack there was a
high risk of infection getting into the
uterus and causing brain damage. We were
devastated and felt totally helpless.
The doctors advised us repeatedly to
terminate as the odds were so much
against us. Termination just didn’t feel
right to me, even though most people
around me were convinced it was the best
thing for me to do. I knew this was
going to be a long journey and the
hardest time in our lives. But I knew I
could not give up on my child.
I then went on the Internet to see what
I could find out about pprom as the
doctors had not offered me any
constructive advice….I put myself on
full bed rest, started taking vitamins
and vegetable juices and protein
milkshakes and increased my water
intake. After a few weeks of difficult
bed rest considering I had a 20 month
old toddler, my daily fluid loss stopped
and an ultrasound showed my AFI level
was up to 10, with the baby sitting
breech. I was ecstatic! I thought
everything was going to be fine. Then 4
days later I felt the baby move back to
head down position and I woke up in the
morning with light bleeding and fluid
loss. An ultrasound showed my AFI was
back down to 1.7. From then on I
continued to loose fluid daily. Every
day would be one step closer, I would
painfully count each week never knowing
what was going to happen.
At 26 weeks I insisted on being admitted
to hospital and received my first round
of steroids. An US showed the baby
weighed about 900g and my AFI was 2.1.
This was an incredibly hard time, being
away from my family, stuck in hospital
just waiting and waiting for something
to happen, then after a few weeks of
nothing much happening except for the
constant fluid loss, I started to bleed
and have a few tightening. At 28 weeks I
was transferred to another hospital 1.5
hours from home where there were more
NICU beds available, amazingly
everything settled back down and I was
sent back to my original hospital. I
could not believe I was still
pregnant.
Then at 31 weeks I started bleeding
again. The doctors were assuming it was
the placenta pulling away, and decided
to wait and see rather than inducing me,
hoping for a little more time with my
baby inside. At 31+5 the bleeding
increased to such a stage as I was
feeling light headed. I was again rushed
in an ambulance to a new hospital with
NICU beds available, this time 2 hours
from home. Within a few minutes of
arriving in the delivery suite I went
into labour. A few hours latter our baby
boy Laith Gardiman was born. He weighed
1.6kg (3lb) and let out a cry. The
emotion we experienced when we heard
that sound is indescribable and still
brings tears to my eyes. We had made
it…
Laith was rushed away from me and the
next time I saw him he was connected to
tubes and monitors and surrounded by
doctors and noises. They blew a hole in
his lung when they tried to ventilate
him as his tiny body was so fragile.
Over the next weeks Laith started to
take small amounts of milk and then
started to come off his CPAP for a few
hours at a time. The doctors were amazed
that he was doing so well, and told us
that they had expected him to be so much
worse. With all the horrible predictions
we had, Laith had turned out perfect
except for his extremely weak lungs. He
is a miracle. I keep thinking now as I
go to hospital each day and visit him,
imagine if I had listened to the
doctors….
The ladies on the PROM support group ran
by this website were my rock during
those 6 months. In the beginning, they
answered my questions and listened to my
fears and then at the end, they cried
with me and thanked God with me. It was
the most wonderful support I’ve ever
felt. Good luck to all you PROM queens
out there. You too, must believe that
there is always room for a miracle.
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