By Kim, Sydney Australia
PROM at 34 weeksDelivery at 35 weeks.
Story added: 1998-04-21

At 21 weeks I had some spotting (after moving furniture). We went to hospital and they discovered I was partially dilated (1-2cms), so I was in hospital for a week to ensure I had complete bedrest and did not keep dilating. They thought I may have had an incompetent cervix, but ultrasounds revealed all the be ok. It was explained away as just "one of those things" and I was told to take life a little slower and easier, with lots of rest and no heavy physical work. Scans taken during my stay at 21 weeks had revealed more amniotic fluid than "normal" but it was nothing to worry about.At 28 weeks I started to just balloon - my fundal height was 30cm and they decided to watch me a little closely to check I didn't do anything dramatic. I had an ultrasound which showed I had too much amniotic fluid and that the baby was big, so we were warned that I was at risk of premature labour. At 30 weeks I was back in hospital with more spotting. The ECG monitors also revealed that I was having contractions every 2-3mins! I had such severe ligament pain because I was so big that I had just thought the pains were part of that. I was on IV ventalin for 24 hours which didn't completely stop the contractions, so I also had a muscle relaxant suppository (mm I know, lots of fun) which seemed to do the trick. I was back in hospital at 31 weeks again with threatened prem labour - this time I was just put into ante natal and monitored - the contractions did stop on their own accord. The 30 week incident was a complete shock, the 31 week incident happenned in extremely hot weather and my husband had disclocated his knee at work so we were driving around taking him to doctors, ultrasounds and xrays. By the time I got to the labour ward I was so dehydrated it was off the scale and incredibly stressed about my husband and that I hadn't felt the baby move since the day before. I was also at the stage where I couldn't do ANYTHING without triggering contractions - and regardless of what I did during the day I always had a run of contractions at night for anywhere between 1-3 hours.

By this stage my fundal height was 44cms and it was off to the fetal health ultrasound specialist. I was officially diagnosed with polyhydramnios and told that if I got to 35 weeks it would be a miracle. We were told of the options (an amnio to drain off some of the fluid was the main one), told to go home and do nothing (again) and to review me in 2 weeks. In the meantime I had the complete test for gestational diabetes which came back clear - so it was all explained away as I was having a big baby. We were told it could have occurred because of a genetic defect in the baby but that that would be "highly unlikely". My 34 week scan showed all to have "settled down" so, while I could still handle being so huge (and therefore so uncomfortable) we would let me go. We were reminded that if I got to 35 weeks it would be amazing. Three days later my membranes ruptured. I was soooo glad I was at home - there was so much fluid it literally poured out of me continuously for 5 minutes - I FLOODED our bathroom! Anyway, labour never really established itself and it was down to the ante natal ward for me (I almost had my own bed!).

Five days later, labour well and truly started and 3hours and 47minutes later Oscar James was in the world. He had bilateral choanal atresia which meant both of his nasal passages were completely blocked, a very low birthweight which was attributed to the nose problem and the fact that he also has a chromosone abnormality. He had a partial trisomy on chromosone 4 - apparently this is very rare. Areas it affects are Cranio facial (his nose), cardio (he has a heart anomaly but it does not affect how it performs), kidneys (his kidneys are small - 10th percentile - but they function properly, physical size and intellect. The last two will obviously just reveal themselves overtime as to whether they have been affected at all. I classify ourselves as very lucky as he could have had a major heart defect, no kidneys or something much more severe than blocked nasal passages. As it was, his nasal passages were just blocked by membrane, not bone. After 6 weeks in hospital and 3 operations our Oscar is home. He is breastfeeding (I much prefer him to an electric pump!) and growing big and strong. It still amazes me how this time has been so joyous while also being incredibly heartbreaking and traumatic. We all just dream of having the perfect child, taking them home a few days after they're born and living the dream of domestic bliss. We were so utterly devastated when we were told about his chromosone abnormality - I mean his nose could be fixed, this was in every cell in his body. He was so perfect to us, so innocent, it just seemed incredibly unfair.

But you know, he is perfect, he has filled our lives with such laughter and tears we can't imagine how we lived without him. I think we are only dealt what we can bear and while at the time we feel we can't keep going, we have an inner strength which differentiates us from those with full termers. Oscar is home now, and as we take each day at a time, I thank God for this amazing gift he has given us.