By Jennifer Radis, Chicago, IL USA
PROM at 19 weeks + 2 days. Delivery at 34 weeks.
Story added: 2004-08-14

Up until the PPROM, I was having a normal twin pregnancy. I had a 2 year old son, Harrison, at home, and he was a normal full-term pregnancy, so I had no reason to think that anything would go wrong. At 19 weeks, 2 days, my water broke around baby "B." In labor and delivery, they found no measurable pockets of fluid around the baby and told me that I would most likely lose the whole pregnancy either due to going into pre-term labor or infection. I was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics and over the course of the next several days we saw baby B's fluid reaccumulating and then leaking out again. However, the fluid levels around the baby looked good enough on ultrasound that after the course of antibiotics, I was discharged and sent home on bedrest. I was readmitted to the hospital at 24 weeks and had the steroid injections. I stayed in the hospital for a week and then I was sent home again. I was on "modified" bed rest, which basically meant that I was taking it easy. Monitored closely, the fluid levels around baby B remained acceptable, however, growth was slowed and I was having some bleeding. Labor was induced at 34 weeks and I gave birth to two beautiful healthy girls. Phoebe weighed 4 lb 8 oz and Ruby weighed 3 lb 9 oz. They never needed any oxygen support and only stayed in the NICU for 16 days. Now, thankfully, the girls are over a month old and are at home and doing super! We feel very blessed and very lucky.