By Tracy Chan, Hong Kong
PROM at 14 weeksDelivery at 29 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2000-09-23

Hello All,
This is Tracy from Hong Kong. I got to know this website since I got PROM on 3 June 2000.

I had a normal pregnancy and gave birth to a baby girl on 25 May 1999. Since Valerie is to cute, my husband and I decide to have another baby this year, but this time we want to have a baby boy, so we went to the doctor and have IUI operation which means we selectedly choose a male sperm and put back inside me.

I got my last period on 27 Feb 2000 and doctor confirmed I got pregnant. My expected due date should be 1 Dec 2000. I didn’t have uncomfortable feelings during first trimester. I have good appetite and have no signs of PROM. I travel twice during May and it seems fine to me.

Suddenly on 3 June while I was sleeping, I leaked at 6:00a.m. At first, I thought after the first pregnancy, I cannot control my muscle and urinated. But at 9:00a.m I leaked again, so I hurry to the doctor. He confirmed that I ruptured. He asked me to bed rest for 1 week and see what happen.

After 1 week, I went back to see him again and I found that there is no more fluid surrounding the baby. He seems can’t move and I was so sad to see this situation. The doctor suggested me to terminate the pregnancy because it was only 14 weeks of pregnancy by that time and the survival rate is very low.

But before I went to the hospital to terminate the pregnancy, my husband wanted me to keep the baby, afterall it’s a life and we shouldn’t decide his life, so we seek a second opinion from another doctor. This time, the doctor also revealed his negative opinion to this pregnancy because I ruptured at such an early stage. But he also supported us to see what happens to the baby. If the baby grows in proper size and live on his own inside the womb, we won’t do the termination.

Since then, I bed rest at home for 4 weeks and was admitted to the hospital at my 18 weeks of pregnancy. I didn’t have any operations, but have antibiotics to avoid infection for 10 days. Leaking still happens throughout the time everyday. Sometimes leaking was a gush, sometimes it’s a little leak.

But starting from my 22 week of pregnancy, leaking seems have a little stop. I can stop leaking for 3 days and then leak again and stop leaking for another 10 days but leak again. I found that whenever I am emotional or sit a lot or walk a lot, then I will leak more. So I tried to stat on bed most of the time except going to the washroom and dinner time. I got ultrasound 4 times during my stay at the hospital. Baby seems growing very well except his lung and stomach. Doctor said this is due to lack of fluid. The last ultrasound was done on 1 Sep, and I’m able to get 9cm of fluid which almost touch the normal fluid level.

Starting from my 26 week of pregnancy, I have to take Adalat 5mg to avoid contractions and add 10 mg after 2 days. Doctors said I’m a miracle because they thought I would have deliver at 24 weeks, but I could stay until 28 weeks. They hope I can go to 32 weeks and hope miracle would happen again.

Suddenly on 16 Sep 1:00 p.m. I started to have back pain and I informed the nurse. They asked the on duty doctor to check up for me but he was so inexperienced and only diagnosed me as simple back problems. He said I exercise too little and bed rest for too long such that I have back problems. But back pain persisted and at 8:00p.m. a senior doctor checked up for me again and this time she reported to the Professor who handle my case. My Professor quickly come back to the hospital and diagnosed me as infection and have an emergency c-section operation. The baby was born on 16 Sep 23:05.

This is the first time I got to the operation theatre and I was so scared and I am those person who afraid any kind of pain. But I need to have many medications because of infections. My DH was not allowed to get in because of my emergency case. My operation was not long, but I didn’t have a chance to see him and my baby boy was moved to the NICU. I was so tired and my husband stayed at NICU to look after his condition.

On 17 Sep, doctors from NICU asked me to go and see him and I know condition was bad, when I arrived at 8:35a.m., he passed away. He was 29 3/7 weeks. But I’m glad that doctors and nurses cleaned up him before I arrived. So I didn’t see him sucked with lots of tubes and won’t feel so much sad. I cried but I can still manage to control myself because I know it would happen and the possibility of lung malfunction is very high. I’m glad that I got many information through this website and other internet websites. PROM babies usually have lung problems. For my baby, his lung cannot breath on his own and its malfunctioning. Even he is now 7 months, but his lung only got 5 months big without air sac. Since I lost fluid for 2 months in his earlier development, his lung stop growing since then and malfunction is expected. Doctors give him lots of medications, and after 9 hours, he still cannot breath and passed away. If I’m at the States, I think there’s much more survival chance of my baby because doctors can help me to reseal or there are more medications which can help.

Since steroid would increase my infection rate, I didn’t take steroid because my Professor said he won’t let me take until the last minute. Also, he said steroid could only last for few days. Even I took it before I had infections, it won’t help baby a lot because his lung air sac didn’t grow at all.

My baby boy looks so pretty and handsome to me and out of my expectation, he seems quite large, 1470 gram and got little baby fat on his little cheek. At first, my DH doesn’t want me to take photos with him because he’s afraid that I would be very sad to see those pictures again in the future, but I insisted and I took lots of pictures with him. I asked the nurse to take his hand prints and foot prints. He looks just like a sleeping baby, but his cheek was red because of those tubes.

I feel very bad not only because of baby lost, but also I suffer all the medications due to infection. But on the other hand, I’m glad that baby doesn’t have to suffer any more and I can go back home to take care my first toddler, Valerie.

Since we are Chinese and have lots of traditions and ceremonies, so what I can do for my baby is to provide him with lots of clothes and other baby stuff to accompany him during the ceremony. We didn’t give him an English name but we give him a Chinese name which means "we will meet again".

Professor said I can get pregnant again in the future but I worried that I would PROM again. I think I ruptured because I didn’t have good rest during my first 2 months of pregnancy and I travel a lot. Also, I am so emotional. Another reason is that my body really didn’t recover enough after my first pregnancy.

Tracy Chan
Mom to Valerie, full term (25 May 1999)
PROM baby, PROM at 14 weeks
Bed rest at home from 14-18 weeks
Admitted to hospital and bed rest from 18-29 weeks
Baby born on 16 Sep 2000 11:05p.m. due to infection with C-section.
Baby passed away on 17 Sep 2000 8:35a.m due to lung malfunction and cannot breath
Baby Boy was 29week 3 days and weigh 1470 gram