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My husband and I had dome IVF for male
factor infertility five times. Each
ended in an early miscarriage. We
finally decided we needed to do donor
sperm. I was so sick from all the IVF
meds. I had such severe hot flashes
that were lasting months. But we went
ahead with the IUI using donor sperm
anyway. My Doctor said my symptoms
from IVF meds would not effect my
chances at pregnancy. I was pregnant
on our first try and we were over the
emotions of donor and just happy to be
pregnant. I began bleeding after a
walk in the snow at 5 wks. It was so
slight, just spotting until 8 wks. My
first OB appointment at 8wks showed a
healthy baby, high heart rate and the
bleeding the doctor thought, was from
an irritated cervix and not coming
from where the baby was. I told my Ob
I was not being 'intimate' with hubby
to be extra cautious. The bleeding
stopped around 9 weeks. Then at 10
weeks it was darker, more mucus in
excessive abundant amounts of thick
globs. My OB said it was not to worry.
I demanded an appointment and when she
examined she said the bleeding was
coming from behind the cervix where
the baby was, but the baby looks ok
and the excessive mucus looks normal.
My cervix was 1cm dilated onthe
outside but she said that was fine as
the blood coming out will do this. I
went home so unsure. She had me on bed
rest and I followed it very closely.
By week 11 the bleeding was the same
and by week 12 the mucus increased.
Nausea had been 24/7 since week 7 and
I had been taking an anti-neasuea pill
daily prescribed by my OB called
Zofran. It caused such constipation
that severe is too gentle of a
description. When I went to the
bathroom I was always terrified to
have to push but the bleeding and
mucus never increased after going and
it was always a relief to see that
pushing didn't cause more harm. Weeks
12, 13 & 14 went by unchanged. I
noticed that when I walked to the
restroom the blood and mucus would
just ooze out. But if I stayed laying,
there was nothing to be seen four
hours... until I walked again. Bed
rest was mandatory. At the end of week
15 I was sitting up and felt a
trickle. I checked my panty liner and
saw nothing and figured I must be hot
and sweating a little maybe. That
night I was walking into the shower
and felt a sharp pain in my vaginal
area like a knife tabbing pain, quick
and short that traveled several
inches. I went to bed. That morning I
woke and ate breakfast, nausea at week
16 was so much better. I was getting
dressed and felt like I was peeing.
When I moved it happened again. I
asked my hubby who looked up PROM and
the info said it was nothing to worry
about unless it was enough to 'fill a
pad'. He proceeded to get a measuring
cup and pour it onto a pad to see how
much it holds and I put a pad on to
see how much I was loosing. I laid
down immediately and it stopped. I
called my OB who said to come in. But
when I stood there was a big gush of
clear, sweet smelling fluid. I got in
the car and called on my cell to ask
my Doctor if I could go into my local
hospital that was closer than my
insured hospital. They said no, this
was not labor and not an emergency
situation. I was so mad because we
live in the mountains and my hospital
is over and hour away. When we got
there, I stupidly got out of the car
rather than requesting a stretcher and
assistance. The second I used muscles
to move I felt mass amounts of fluid
soaking my entire pants down my legs
and seat area and through the heavy
pad I was wearing. I went into ER
where they acted very calm as I
panicked to be able to lay down, they
wanted me to fill out paper-work. I
bedded to lay down and finally grabbed
a wheel chair and laid across the
seat, fet up in the air, head hanging
down, back aching and going numb but
gravity holding water in. After
paperwork the nurse slowly pushes me
to my room where he asks me to get up
onto the bed. I lost more water. A
nurse comes in and asks me questions
about what happened and rolls another
bed next to mine, asks me to get onto
it. I said I could loose more water.
the nurse said "It's probably just
pee, nothing to worry". I knew
otherwise! I roll over and loose more
water. Come to find out, that nurse
just needed my bed and had put me on
the wrong bed and needed it back and
wasn't even treating me and was just
nosy about my case. The Dr comes in
who admits he knows nothing abut this
and calls labor and delivery who says
that I am 16 weeks and they only admit
the earliest at 20 weeks. My OB
happened to be working that day and
stopped in when they told her. She did
a non sterile digital exam, poked at
my closed cervix and and ultrasound.
There was absolutely no water left
around our little boy. The bouncing
baby at our last ultrasound was now
laying flat on his back, hands at his
sides, darkness all around him with my
insides crushing him from not having
water around him. They said I needed
to terminate. That he'd be born not
breathing, live a few hours at best,
blind, deformed, deaf and listed all
the possibilities. I said no. I went
home to think. I searched online and
found amnio-infusion where they
replace the lost fluid. The Dr said
the tear was too big and it wouldn't
stay in. I found something called
amnio-patch, a glue patch they inject
over the hole and let fluid build back
up. Something made for amniocentesis
rupture difficulties. They said no,
just no the Dr wouldn't do it. They
said I'd get infection soon and
possibly die and I need to make a
choice of expected management care or
to terminate. At the time, I didn't
know what expected management was. I
thought it meant a choice of labor and
delivery or D&E surgery. I said "if I
deliver will he be born alive" the Dr
said most likely no. So I chose the
D&E. The Dr said he'd sleep just like
me under the anesthesia and I didn't
want him to feel pain. It wasn't until
AFTER the D&E that I learned what
expected management was. He was taken
from us at 16 weeks 3 days, healthy
and perfect. There was no sign of
cause but the amniotic fluid was
infected and they could not identify
the bacteria. My OB said it was most
likely an infection from after the
water broke but we can never know. I
never went into labor, my cervix was
closed and there was never any
answers. I think the IVF medications
caused a placental growth attachment
problem that didn't manifest until the
baby was heavier and as a result
caused placental abruption that caused
a clot that sat on his bag of water
eroding it away until it ruptured. But
this is all my assumptions and we can
never know for sure. I know one thing
for sure. Trust your body, be diligent
about what you want and need and be
your own advocate when no one else
will. I'm pregnant again and doing
just that. Almost 6 weeks and no signs
of trouble like before at this time.
We can only pray and monitor as best
as possible.
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