By Lakshmi, Boston, MA USA
PROM at 14 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 15 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2012-12-26

My husband was born without a vas deferens and I have PCOS. The only way for us to have a baby is via IVF. We did a fresh and a frozen cycle which failed. We did another fresh cycle and were ecstatic to be pregnant with twin boys. At 7 weeks, I had profuse bleeding and severe abdominal pain. I passed two large clots which fit in the palm of my hand. I was certain I'd lost the babies then. An ultrasound, however, showed the babies were still there and healthy. What it did find was each baby had a very large subchorionic hematoma. They told me I had a greater than 50% chance of losing the babies. I continued to bleed. The bleeding would range from bright red, pink, tan, dark brown. Sometimes it was a light flow, sometimes it was spotting, sometimes it was just once a day, sometimes it was all day, somedays I had no bleeding at all. The only constant thing about the bleeding was that it was always changing. After 10 weeks, they were unable to see the hematomas on ultrasound and told me they were resolving on their own. At 14 weeks 6 days, I bent down to pick up some laundry. I felt a gush of fluid. I lay down for 30 minutes and when I stood up I gushed again. We went to labor and delivery. The nitrizine test came back inconclusive since it was contaminated with blood. The ferning test was negative. The ultrasound showed two healthy babies. We were told it was probably just serum from the hematomas. At 15 weeks, we returned to the hospital to see a MFM doctor. The ultrasound this time showed Baby A had ruptured his membrane and had little to no fluid left. We we told the chances of him surviving were less than 5%. We were told we could selectively reduce Baby A to give a better chance for Baby B but for now to go home and wait and see. To take my temperature twice daily to keep an eye out for infection. The next two weeks would be crucial. At 15 weeks 3 days the ultrasound showed Baby A had no heartbeat. Later that night I delivered him at home. We rushed to the hospital to try to save Baby B. They immediately told me to induce labor. I refused and they told me that I would go into 'expectant management' and all they would do was monitor my blood pressure and temperature. They refused to give me antibiotics. They refused to tuck Baby A's cord back into my cervix to reduce infection. They refused to put on a cerclage. Effectively, I was a sitting duck for infection. After 24 hours, my temperature rose to 100.5F and I had some very mild tenderness in my abdomen. Apparently, this qualifies as infection and they told me I no longer had a choice. They started induction. It took me almost 40 hours to deliver Baby B. He was strong and a fighter and I am devastated because I feel under a different team of doctors more could have been done and he would have been saved.