By Dee Alexander, Severn, MD USA
PROM at 19 weeks + 1 days. Delivery at 20 weeks + 4 days.
Story added: 2003-04-21

We had been trying to get pregnant for over three years with no success. After months of fertility drugs, IUI's, and finally IVF, I was finally pregnant with twins. Everything was going along just fine until my water broke on one of the babies at 19 weeks. The doctors said the baby would not survive since it was too early but if I could keep him inside me until 24 weeks then there was a chance of survival. They gave me all the risks and stats, and what they would do if I developed an infection which was to induce labor. A couple of days later I felt something in my vagina which turned out to be a foot. The docs admitted me to the hospital and expected me to deliver within 24 hours. A week later I started to have contractions. Daniel was born but only lived for 15 minutes and I was happy to have the chance to hold him. The doctors tried a procedure where they leave the fetus inside me and close the umbilical cord to the other baby to try and save the other baby. Unfortunately, later that night I started to have chills, a very high fever (104 deg), and had developed an infection in my uterus which had also entered my bloodstream. The only way to get rid of the infection was to induce labor to clear everything out of my uterus. My little girl, Denise, was born (stillborn) the next morning. I had the opportunity to hold her too. It was so devastating to see two babies that look just like me and my husband although they were very tiny.