By Kerri, Denver, CO US
PROM at 25 weeks + 4 days. Delivery at 28 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2005-02-06

I want to share our story to give others some hope. Ours has a happy outcome. After 4 years of dealing w/ infertility and on our second IVF attempt, I became pregnant w/ twin boys. The pregnancy was perfectly normal and uneventful. At 25 weeks and 4 days, I woke up at 3 a.m. and sat up and my water broke. We went to PSL hospital in Denver and I was admitted and told I would be there until delivery. Baby A's water had broke but Baby B's water was intact. They gave me antibiotics and some shots of steroids for the baby's lungs. There was no sign of infection. There is so much fear at first, it is paralyzing. To think of all we had been through to get pregnant, it was unimaginable to think of losing our babies. We did everything w/ in our power to stay positive. My bed rest was not bad at all - I read, wrote, and my dr. prescribed pool therapy - floating in a special hydrogen (not chlorine) pool - it helps regenerate the fluid. And I drank tons of water. My husband spent every night w/ me in my hospital room and that support was huge. I was on strict bed rest and had planned to be there for as long as possible - we were hoping to get to 35 weeks. But, at 28 weeks and 3 days the babies were born. They spent 10 days in the level 1 NICU and are still in the level 2 NICU but we hope to have them home in 2-3 weeks. They are doing fine. It was very scary at first, but it's getting better.

I want anyone reading this to know that when I was on bed rest, I found this PROM website and it helped me. We knew what it would be like if the babies came before 28 weeks - that milestone is so very important. If there is a mom out there on bedrest, feel free to email me. Hang in there, your mind is very powerful and can make a big difference if you focus on the positive and do not let fear take over.

The other important thing I want to mention is please do not waste your time or energy blaming yourself or wondering why this happened. You are not to blame. These things just happen sometimes. Hang on!