By Tracy, England
PROM at 17 weeks + 3 days. Delivery at 41 weeks.
Story added: 2003-05-22

During a routine visit to the hospital my husband and I were informed that our baby was at a high risk of having downs syndrome and I was advised to have and amnio.

At 17 weeks The procedure was performed and I was advised to rest for 36-48 hours. 3 days after the amnio and even though I followed the doctor's instructions to the letter I awoke to a gush of fluid. My husband took me straight into the maternity department where I was examined and there was no pool of fluid near the cervix and no amniotic fluid was detected. The doctor put it down to a weak bladder, even though in my heart I knew that was not the case, I was sent home.

Upon returning home to bed I was still leaking fluid and then another major gush occured. I returned back to the hospital and more tests were carried out which confirmed I was loosing fluid. I was told that the likelyhood was I would go into labour and miscarry my baby or that infection would set in. Termination was never discussed and therefore there was no pressure for us to make an impossible decision.

I was kept in hospital on complete bed rest for 7 days, with a constant regime of tests and antibiotics to try to monitor for and prevent the onset of infection. Once there was no further loss for 48 hours I was allowed to return home and told to rest and to keep monitoring my temperature for signs of fever.

I took every day at a time, unable to think further than that or to make plans for the future. Each day that passed was a day closer to the life of my baby being viable. The week after I was discharged I received the results of the amnio which showed no evidence of downs and that we were expecting our second girl.

Time ticked by and after what seemed like an eternity, my due date arrived. Upon a visit to see the midwife I was told that my little girl was breech. In a way I was pleased to have been given the opportunity to have a c-section as after everything my baby and I had been through I was worried about the complications that might have occured during a natural birth.

In the early hours of the morning on the day my c-section had been scheduled, I went into labour. Upon arriving at the hospital I was 7cm dilated and by the time I was in Theatre I was 10cm dilated. An emergency c-section was performed and my 8lb 10oz daughter Jessica was brought into the world.

She is now a happy healthy 4 month- old.

I hope this story gives hope to anyone in a similar situation.