By Hronn Hardardottir, Reykjavik Iceland
PROM at 35 weeksDelivery at 35 weeks.
Story added: 2004-08-24

After comlicated pregnancy and giving birth after 36 weeks i was so worried i would start labor early and have to stay in hospital many weeks. This time i had gained access to the internet and spent hours reading about pregnancy, delivery and stories of other women and the fact no one has the same story to tell. One could think after reading 10 stories about delivering you know it all, but after reading thousands of stories, i still come across some experience i never read about before. And every story is so unique and interesting to read. I am sure i was a midwife in my previous life. Bringing child into this world is truly the greatest experience of all.

I was on birth-control pill when i got pregnant with our first child, but it took us three years, many examinations, operations and finally IVF treatment to conceive again. After trying so hard to get pregnant i was terrified i would miscarry, and took wery good care of my. As good as you can with a demanding 4 year old prince in the home. I was under strong care of midwife and ob doctor due to difficulties of my last pregnancy. I started to have regular contractions at 18 weeks and my cervix was checked in sonografie every 4 weeks, but it looked ok, no opening. At 35 weeks i noticed extra wetness in my underware. Morning after my bed was wet. I got bad feeling about this and went for examination. The doctor checked me and told me i was fully effaced and with 3cm dialation, but the baby was high up and not causing pressure on the cervix. They took example and said the test was negative, it was not prom situation. The docktor told me she had many women with this opening that had full term pregnancy, so i should not worry, in spite of the opening i could go 40 weeks and longer in this situation. Mark the time, 11:45. I drove home and as i walked up to the door, i found something running down. I went to the bathroom and it was blood. Usually i bleed after vaginal examination, so i went to bed while my husband prepared lunch. He called "its, ready" and i stood up and both trousers and floor got wet. I was sure my membraces had ruptured as they did in the first pregnancy. All i could think about was that it was december 30, and the baby would be born a whole year earlier just because of these two days left in the year, start scool one year earlier, would be shortest kid in his class, would get his drivers licence latest in the class, be the last teenager in his class allowed to buy alcohol.

When i changed clothes i realised that it was not water, it was blood, and a lot af blood. I calmed myself reminding me "you can loose 2 liters of blood and still be ok". I called hospital and they sent ambulance after me. 10 minutes later i was in the hosptial, but the experienced midwife said, this is very thin blood, it must be your water. And it was. Again i experienced prom and this time it was erlier in the pregnancy, after 35 weeks. I was not terrified, because i had read so many stories about babies beeing born this early in pregnancy and was sure he would not have to stay many days in nicu and probably not need to go to breath-ventilator. I had been diagnosed with GBS early in this pregnancy (i now believe that is the reason for my prom's) so i had to have iv with fluids and antibiotics running during delivery. Again my delivery was fast. My membraces ruptured at 12:30, and when i came to the hospital monitor showed contractions every 5 minutes. "How long did you have this contractions" asked the nurse. "Since 18 weeks" i told her, but i am sure she thought i was not thinking clear because of early delivery, svo she wrote in my file pain had started 11:30. But in fact painful contraction started 14:30 and i began pushing 14:50. 3 pushes and 11 minutes later, a surprisely big boy came out in a huge gush of water. He was 3368gr and 50 cm long. But his brother was only 2450 gr after 36 weeks pregnancy. Average child is usually 3500-3700 and 54 cm long. The doctor rushed with him to the nicu, only to give him back and said he was not a preemie. This is a full grown boy after full term pregnancy, they told me.

I had to tell people it was a IVF (in vitro fertilation) over and over again, for sure he was born after only 35 weeks and i was so scared he would just stop breating or something bad happen to him, i could not sleep the first 3 days. I kept him in my arm all nigth long to make sure he was ok. He got jaundice on 4th day and needed light treatment for many days. Again no one understood why this big boy needed so many days in the lights, and i got more and more angry, in the end i nearly shouted at anyone who came to the door, it's an IVF 35 weeks pregnancy and he is not full term baby. This is yet another angle of prom situation, when no one believes the length of the pregnancy and you are alone worrying about the healt of your baby.

Viktor is a helthy 20 months old boy (at time written), the joy of his parents and his big brother. His homepage is at www.barnaland.is/barn/9775

Thank's for reading his story

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