By Valerie Hanlon, Ireland
PROM at 32 weeks + 5 days. Delivery at 33 weeks.
Story added: 2001-07-03

After two previous successful pregnancies I found I was expecting twins. At sixteen weeks it was found that this pregnancy was a twin pregnancy. Everything progresses fine despite one of the babies being breech. Twin two (as Craig was called) remained breech throughout the pregnancy. Then at almost 33 weeks pregnant I awoke one morning and thought I had wet the bed.
As a precaution I rang the doctor who suggested I go straight to the hospital. On examination at the hospital the doctor decided that one of the sacs of amniotic fluid may be leaking and admitted me for bed rest. This was Friday afternoon.
As the evening wore on I began having pains in my back, but they didn't feel like labour pains so I was not too worried. The babies had had a habit of moving into very uncomfortable positions throughout the pregnancy and I thought this was the case again. At 3.30 a.m. after trying to walk off the pain which I was convinced was not premature labour I was examined by a midwife and found to be 5cm dilated.
The doctor was not happy as 33 weeks was too early for my babies to be born.
On attaching a monitor to the first babies head which should have been egg- shell like, the doctor was happy to find that the head was quite hard. A good sign.
At 4.56 a.m. Kevin Patrick Hanlon entered the world weighing 4lbs 10 oz and 12 minutes later after a precautionary scan to check that Craig was still breech, the doctor hand delivered Craig Michael Hanlon weighing 4 lb 14 oz. The birth was over no stiches for Mum and when the babies were checked over they were found to be perfectly healthy but without the sucking reflex.
They were tube fed for almost three weeks. My twins left hospital after three weeks in the special care unit and now are two happy healthy ten year olds.