By Ellie, Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. Canada
PROM at 29 weeks + 3 days. Delivery at 30 weeks + 4 days.
Story added: 2002-04-12

Here's my story:
My name is Ellie and I'm an RN and work in Labor & Delivery. My pregnancy was going great aside from alot of morning sickness. I had started having some cramping, mostly at work due to the business of our unit, we did over 500 deliveries a month. When I went to my DR at 29 weeks, I mentioned the cramping to her and she checked my cervix, she said it was soft and 1cm dilated, I probably should have stopped work then but she said we'll re-check in a week and go from there. Well, I took it easier at work, taking the less busy patients, one evening shift it was so busy and a lady came in who needed an emergency C/S and I was the only one free enough to be able to do it, so I did. I went home that night and was cramping, so I just went to bed. The next morning when I woke up I got out of bed to go make breakfast, while standing in the kitchen I had a very large gush of water come out of me, all I could think of was please God, let that just be the baby kicking my full bladder (she was breech 3 days before), I walked carefully to the bathroom and sat on the toilet only to have more fluid gush out of me. I called my husband to get me a pad and told him what happened. We went to the hospital right away where they confirmed that my water had ruptured. I was worried that they would need to do a C/S right away because she had been breech only 3 days before. They gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop any contractions I was having. As it turned out she was head down and I wasn't in Labor. I stayed in the hospital on strict bedrest, taking terbutaline orally the whole time. I received betamethasone shots to help mature her lungs, the plan was to try to get me to 34 weeks if we could. Well, when I was 30 weeks and 4 days, on August 3, 1998, I went into Labor, they started me on Magnesium Sulfate to stop my contractions but it didn't work, the DR came in and checked me and said I was already dilated to 5cm. I was so upset, I knew what complications could arise from having a baby at this age. My Labor progressed really quickly and after only 6 contractions of pushing I had my beautiful daughter, she weighed 3lbs 8ozs and was 16inches long, she came out screaming and had apgars of 9 & 9. She never once needed to have any oxygen. She spent 1 month in the NICU before she got to come home. She had no major health problems, she had immature bowel and needed the help of glycerine suppositories to poop for awhile and they found a cyct on her brain during a routine head U/S when they were looking for bleeds, the cyct never changed and miraculously disappeared by the time she was 6 months old. She is now a very healthy 3 1/2 year old and we are finally expecting a sibling for her, I have fears that the same thing could happen again, but now I know better and I be sure and stop work should I have any concerns. I don't know if my water broke because of the cramping or what, I do know that there were no infections detected, when she was born she had a true knot in her umbilical cord and we believe that God was watching out for her and allowed her to enter this world a little early so we could enjoy her alive.