My story starts out very similarly to
most of the posts on this site. This
was my first pregnancy. My husband
and I were married 8 years when we
decided we wanted to start a family.
Both of us had been focused on
furthering our education and our
careers until that point.
Fortunately, I got pregnant fairly
quickly. The early part of my
pregnancy had been easy…without
typical mood swings, morning sickness,
and food aversions that I had heard
about from many of my friends. Even
my weight gain had been on target.
Most of my friends joked that they
didn’t believe that I was pregnant as
at 5 months pregnant, I had gained
only 9 pounds. That all changed
abruptly when I woke up one night with
the feeling of wetness in my bed. At
first I thought I had wet the bed.
Then I realized that there was no
smell of urine. When I got up to go
to the bathroom, I noticed additional
clear fluid was leaking out of me.
By that time, my husband woke up .
When I told him what was wrong, he
immediately reached for the "What to
Expect When You Are Expecting" book
which had been on the nightstand. He
read about Premature Rupture of
Membranes and realized that we should
call our doctor. The doctor told us
to go to the emergency room and he
would meet us there. We rushed to the
emergency room.
At the emergency room, they tested the
fluid and performed an ultrasound.
The doctor confirmed that my water had
broke. Since my local hospital did
not have a NICU, they called an
ambulance to bring me to the Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital
(RWJ ), which is about an hour from my
home, as RWJ is equipped to deal with
high risk pregnancies and premature
babies. They also started me on IV
fluids and gave me steroid shot to
help the baby’s lungs develop should
he be delivered. From what the
doctor told me at my local hospital, I
thought it was inevitable that I would
go into labor within 48 hours. I
started panicking as I knew that at 25
weeks and 5 days, the baby was very
small and there were certainly risks
associated with delivering so early.
When I arrived at RWJ, they gave me
another ultrasound, performed a pelvic
exam, and tested the fluid. They
confirmed that I experienced PPROM.
However, this doctor told me that
while there is good chance that I
would go into labor within 48 hours,
it was possible that I would continue
to carry the baby for weeks or
possibly even to term and I would
remain in the hospital until I
delivered. The first 3 days at RWJ,
I spent in the Labor and Delivery
unit. I was on a fetal heart rate and
contraction monitor 24 hours a day.
They started me on 2 different
antibiotics as I was informed that due
to the rupture and lack of amniotic
fluid, I was a greater risk of
infection. I was also warned that if
I showed any sign of infection or
labor, they would deliver right away.
Since my baby was breech, I would have
an emergency C-section.
After 3 days, they decided to move me
to the Antepartum ward, where I would
stay until I delivered. They would
deliver me at 34 weeks even if I did
not go into labor as at that point,
the baby would be at a good point
developmentally and the risk of
infection for me would increase. I
was very relieved to move out of the
Labor and Delivery ward as the bed was
super firm as they are designed for
pushing. Additionally, I was stuck
using a bedpan while in L&D. I was
told that when I moved to the
Antepartum, I would likely be allowed
to get up only to go to the
bathroom. Lastly and most
importantly, it meant that the doctors
did not think I was going to go into
labor any time soon.
I spent the next 8 weeks in the
Antepartum ward on bedrest. I was
allowed to get up only to go to the
bathroom and shower. I continued
leaking fluid and each ultrasound
showed that my fluid level remained
extremely low. My monitoring sessions
(now twice a day for an hour each)
were stressful as a result of dips or
decelerations in my baby’s heart
rate. These dips were likely caused
by the baby cinching the cord as a
result of the lack of fluid. Luckily
the dips did not last very long, the
baby always reacted, and his heart
rate would return to normal. My
doctors said that dips are quite
normal for PPROM patients. Regardless
every time it happened, my stress
level increased. Every ultrasound
showed that the baby was growing and
doing okay in his cramped
environment. I continued to get
regular ultrasounds and my temperature
and blood pressure were closely
monitored. Against all odds, my body
and the baby continued to cooperate.
I made it beyond several milestones –
28 weeks, 30 weeks, 32 weeks. During
those 8 weeks, I was lucky enough to
have amazing support from my husband,
family, friends, and colleagues. I
don’t know that I could have made it
without them.
My c-section was scheduled for March
21, 2007. And I made it!!! Jacob
Aidan was born at 12:01 PM on March
21, 2007 (34 weeks plus 2 days). He
weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces. He cried
when they were cleaning him off. My
husband followed him to the NICU for
his initial assessments. Dad
reported back to me as soon as he
could…that was the longest hour of my
life. Jacob was doing fine. His
apgar scores were 8/9. He was put on
CPAP to assist with his breathing as
soon as he arrived in the NICU. Other
than the CPAP, he was given
antibiotics as a preventive treatment
of possible infections. By the end
of the first evening he was taken off
of the CPAP and put on a nasal
canula. Everything else looked
good. All blood work showed no sign
of infection. Jacob started feeding
from a bottle within 2 days. While he
was eating a very limited amount of
food at first, he seemed to have the
suck swallow reflex down. He did need
to go under the bili light as a result
of slight jaundice by day three but
this was something we expected.
Jacob continued to feed more and more
each day. All the doctors were amazed
how well Jacob was doing considering
his less than ideal living conditions
in utero. By day 8, he was moved to
the Special Care Nursery and was
released late in the day. Jacob has
been home for 4 weeks and continues to
do very well. What a journey! I
hope anyone who is reading this from
their hospital bed can find some
comfort in my story. While it is all
very scary, positive outcomes are
possible. Think positively. I truly
believe in the power of positive
thought and Jacob is proof of
that.
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