I will give the short version here. If
you want details, you are welcome to
visit my blog. I am giving you the
link to the first pPROM posts in
March, and then you can read
subsequent posts, from pPROM for 5
weeks to the NICU for 6 weeks to the
present.
http://meanmama.wordpre
ss.com/2008/03/
This was my second pregnancy. I had
twins in Nov of 2005. They were born
early but not due to pPROM, just due
to being twins. This pregnancy was a
singleton, and I was due 6/22/08. On
3/17/08 at 1AM, I got up to go to the
bathroom, and once I sat down on the
toilet, a steady trickle of fluid
started coming out before I'd even
released my bladder. Even though my
water had not broken with the twins, I
knew that that's what was happening,
and I could not have been more
shocked. I was 26weeks 1 day
pregnant.
At the hospital, it was confirmed that
the liquid I'd collected in tupperware
was indeed amniotic fluid. I was
totally panicked. Thought I'd go into
labor. Having been treated for
symptoms of preterm labor with my
twins at 27 weeks (carried them to
34), and having spent a month in the
NICU with my twins, I was educated
about what having a baby at 26 weeks
could mean, and I was terrified. But I
had a great team of doctors who kept
telling me that others had made it for
days and weeks and months without
going into labor, and that I had to
start thinking positively.
I stayed in the hospital for 5 weeks.
I had my temp taken and blood pressure
checked many times a day. I got two
rounds of steroid shots, two times:
once upon arriving at the hospital and
once at 28 weeks. I had ultrasounds,
including fluid measurements and
biophysical fetal profiles, 2-3 times
per week. My fluid went up and down A
LOT. At one point it was quite low,
and then in the last week and a half,
it went up. My baby seemed to be doing
well. Also, I was on a fetal heart
monitor for 30 minutes twice per day.
If there were heart decelerations, I
was put on it more often. One time I
even had to go back down to the labor
and delivery floor because of fetal
heart decelerations. It resolved,
though, and I was sent back up to my
room on the antepartum floor.
Doctors would also regularly press on
the upper part of my abdomen to see if
it was tender, because this would be a
sign of an infection. The main fear
once your water has broken but you
have not gone into labor is, in fact,
infection. I did not show symptoms of
that.
I kept leaking amniotic fluid. Every
day I would leak, sometimes a little
and sometimes a LOT. This did not seem
to correspond with my changing fluid
levels. My fluid was always clear or
pale yellow, though I've been told
that pink can also be normal. Toward
the end (the last 5 days or so), I
started to see some blood mixed in
with the fluid. We all thought maybe
this was a sign, since it was a change
for me, and I did go into labor that
week.
Since about 21 weeks of pregnancy, I'd
had a low, dull crampy, tight feeling.
The feeling was never found to mean
anything, according to ultrasounds and
fFNs I'd had. That feeling started to
get more intense in the last days of
my pregnancy. I had a night of such
painful contractions that I REALLY
thought I was in labor. It turned out
to be false. A few nights later, I had
the same thing, but it did not stop in
the morning. My contractions were not
picking up on the monitor, however,
because they were so low. Finally a
nurse figured out how to tie the
monitor on so that is was really
tight, and the contractions started
showing. Upon acknowledging that I was
having such frequent contractions, the
doctor agreed to do an internal and
saw that I was 3 cm dilated.
I was taken down to L&D. I was in a
lot of pain, but I really wanted to
try VBAC as long as it was safe. The
nurses said they'd hold the monitor to
me the whole time to make sure my baby
was doing well, and my doctor
approved. I waited for a bit to have
an epidural because I was only 3 cm
dilated after 12 hours of labor.
However, the contractions started to
become so intense that I could not
bear it anymore. I got an epidural at
3PM, and when the doctor checked again
at 6PM, I was 8 or 9. I pushed at 7,
and it only took 20 minutes.
My son was born 31 weeks 1 day, at
4lbs. 5 oz. That is really big for
that gestation (babies run big in our
family). His apgars were good. We were
told by the ped from the NICU that
he'd only need a little breath
support. However, once in the NICU for
a few hours he started having a lot of
trouble getting enough oxygen into his
blood. The reason for this was never
really found. The only conclusion they
could draw was that the blood vessels
in his lungs would not open, and they
treated him for that with nitrix gas.
He responded well. This is usually a
problem that full-term babies would
have, not preemies, so this is unusual
and does not point to his lungs being
immature.
Over the next week, he went from
ventilator to CPAP to high flow nasal
canula. A quick transition. In time,
he came off the canula. It took longer
for him to maintain his own temp and
come out of the heated crib. He also
started having bradycardia and oxygen
desaturation a couple weeks into his
stay, and that is what kept him there
for the rest of the time (these issues
are VERY common preemie issues, but
our hospital had a strict policy
whereby the baby needs to go 5 days
without bradys or desats to be
discharged). He came home after 6
weeks in the NICU, without any
monitors, etc.
He is now 11 weeks old and doing well.
He weighs a chunky 10 lbs and
exclusively breastfeeds. His corrected
age is 2 weeks (counted from the time
of his due date, not his birthday), so
he is still not doing all the things
that typical 11 weekers do, but on the
other hand he does a lot more than a 2
weeks would. He is becoming quite
alert and holding his head up. He is a
miracle for sure.
We never knew why pPROM happened to
us. It is terrifying, as you know.
Please know that there is hope. Read
my blog if you want, and if you leave
me a comment with your email address I
will write you back. I can also
suggest other preemie blogs. I am
happy to hold your hand through this,
if you are still struggling.
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