By Tara, Dunmore, PA USA
PROM at 18 weeks + 5 days. Delivery at 19 weeks + 2 days.
Story added: 2005-01-09

On Sunday January 2nd 2005 at 3am, I woke up in a pool of what I believed to be urine. I stood up to run to the bathroom and more fluid just seeped down. I called the OB and was told to come into the hospital to be checked. After a few tests they determined that my water did break. They put me on complete bedrest and antibiotics via IV. When the morning came they sent a tech to do an ultrasound and found there was only 2 cm of fluid remaining with the baby. They weren't very optimistic, but I held out alot of hope. On Wed, they sent a Perinatalogist from another hospital to check me over again, and via ultrasound found that there was less then 1/2 cm of fluid remaining at this point, even though I never felt it come out again, it must have been seeping when I used the bedpan. They arranged for me to go the hospital where the Perinatalogist was from 1 1/2 hours from home on Friday morning Jan 7th 2005.

When I arrived there I couldnt help but wonder if I was making the right decision to induce. I had read the survival stories here, but most of the situations seemed so different. I had no Group B Strep, so they had no reasoning behind why this was happening to me.

When the nurse came in to talk to us about what would happen, I just had to ask for them to check again before proceeding. I went down for another ultrasound and there was now 0 fluid remaining. at 930 am they gave me Citadel to dialate me and the wait began. At 3:25pm my beautiful son Michael was born. Unfortunately he had already passed on. We were able to hold him, kiss him, cuddle him, tell him how much we love him. The chaplin came and gave him a Batism.

I was worried about what it would be like to see him or hold him. He looked no different from a full term baby, except he was tiny (7oz, 8 1/2 in) and his skin was translucent.

They took pictures of him, washed and dressed him. Wrapped him in a beautiful blanket with a teddybear. (All which they gave us to take home) I tell you this because all of these little things give us peace. We have a part of him. The babybook they gave us has all the information about the day, a photo, his footprints, his bracelet, a gold ring to wear around my neck. All the stuff I will treasure forever.

If you are ever in this situation and your outcome is going to be like mine, please consider spending some time with your baby. Its the best way to come to peace with things.

I know that our son is in a better place, and will be our guardian angel and watch over us.

If anyone has experienced this and has gone on to have a successful subsequent pregnancy, Iwould love to hear about it, please email me at Tara23U@aol.com