By Wendy, Madison, WI USA
PROM at 15 weeks + 4 days. Delivery at 16 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2005-02-08

I had been experiencing a lot of lower back pain for about two weeks before my water broke at 15 weeks, 4 days. When I contact the doctor on call (it was the middle of the night) I was told to go back to bed, there was nothing that could be done.

1 day after PROM I had an ultrasound to confirm that there was just a small pocket of fluid left near the babies face, otherwise the sac was empty. The heartbeat was still strong at 150 bpm. I was told to watch for cramping and bleeding, with another doctor's appointment in 2 days.

3 days after PROM at my appointment, the heartbeat was again strong, 160 bpm, no cramping or bleeding. I was drinking a lot of water, about 3 quarts a day and getting lots of rest. I actually felt pretty good and could feel regular movement. I has hoping a was the rare statistic that could beat the odds and have the sac reseal itself.

4 days after PROM I began spotting, but nothing heavy. I continued to feel good and was no longer leaking fluid.

5 days after PROM while showering and felt the umbilical coming out. I instinctive tried to put it back inside me but knowing we had no chance to keep the pregnancy at that point.

We arrived at the hospital around noon on day 5 and it was confirmed that it was only a matter of time. The baby still had a heartbeat but it was much slower. I was admitted and given a tablet in my cervix to help it soften.

18 hours later there was no progress so I was started on Pitocin drip. The heartbeat had also stopped by this point. Two and a half hours later we delivered a 4 ounce, 6 1/2 inch baby boy. The placenta did not release on it's own, and after 5 hours of trying to have my body expel it, I was prepped for surgery for a D&C.

Our baby was baptized, we had photos taken and footprints. A memory box was given to us by the hospital staff and we felt well supported.

We decided to do some additional chromosomal testing, this being or 3rd pregnancy loss and we are looking forward to some answers with those test results.

We hope in sharing our story it may help other couples.