By Angelina Figueroa, South River, NJ USA
PROM at 19 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 28 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2004-03-02

I woke up to go to work one Friday morning and felt like I had wet the bed. Embarassed, I took a shower and began to get dressed when I felt a big gush of fluid. I thought to myself I'm 24 I can't be losing control of my bladder. Even pregnant... I'm only 19wks. After the gushes kept coming I went to the hospital where it was confirmed... my water had broken. I was then told that the baby I could feel move was going to die. I was mortified. My doctor told me that I had the option to terminate the pregnancy because chances are that I would go into labor within the next 24 hours. And, if I didn't I wouldn't hold enough fluid for my baby to breathe in order to develope healthy lungs. My spouse and I decided that there was no way we could terminate. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and was sent home on modified bedrest with the thought that I'd miscarry. Two weeks had gone by and my doctor ordered an ultrasound that showed my AFI was 6.5. It was low, but there was enough fluid for the baby to breathe and develope lungs. At 24wks I was admitted to the hospital on strict bedrest. That day before I went to the hospital I new that my baby would be just fine. So, on the way I went to the mall and bought a going home outfit. After two weeks in the hospital I began to bleed. My doctor feared that my placenta was abrupting and sent me to L&D. Well, after 12 hours there the bleeding slowed down and I went back to a regular room. To make a very long story short, I remained on bed rest for 2 more long weeks. At 28wks 3days I delivered a baby girl on 12/16/03 weighing in at 2 lbs. 5 oz. She's doing just fine. Now 11 wks old she's 5 lbs. 6 oz. Serran Mari Brown is what we named our miracle. She came home on Valentine's Day after 9 wks in the NICU.