By Teresa Ripley, Springdale, MD US
PROM at 19 weeksDelivery at 27 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2005-03-28

My husband and I struggled with infertility for 6 years and finally, after 7 IUI’s we tried IVF as a last ditch effort and were successful after the first try. Actually, we were a little too successful, having started out with triplets. Five weeks into my pregnancy I started spotting - most of the time not heavily, but continuous pinkish/brown. At 7 weeks, I had the first u/s and they saw three gestational sacs, but only two hb. Two days later, I started bleeding very heavily and rushed back to the doctor. They still saw two babies with hb and said I was probably miscarrying the third. I continued to bleed on and off for the next 3 weeks. At 10 weeks I went back to the doctor for an u/s and he told me that one of the two babies no longer had a hb and had stopped growing around 8 weeks. We were devastated, but relieved that we still had one healthy baby. Again, I continued to bleed and was told that it was normal and to be expected until the other two either passed or were re-absorbed. At week 16 I went in for an appointment and the doctor did a transvaginal u/s rather than an abdominal. She told me that there were no living fetuses and that she was very sorry. After arguing with her for a few minutes, she agreed to do an abdominal u/s and found the baby, h/b and wiggling, right away. When she had done the transvaginal, she had only seen the two sacs that were still in there but lying very low. At 19 weeks 0 days, I woke up at 3:30 am to heavy bleeding and when I went to the bathroom I passed a large clot and a lot of fluid/blood. My husband took me to the ER where they promised they would call L&D to do an u/s. After they examined me, they said that the baby was fine since they could still hear a good hb and there was no reason to do an ultrasound. They sent me home with no limitations saying everything was fine, but to come in the following Monday for a follow-up exam. That next Monday, I went in for the follow-up exam thinking it was just a routine check- up and everything was fine. As the doctor was conducting the u/s, she said nothing but printed out a picture and said she needed to show it to another doctor. She came back with a nurse and a box of tissues and told me she was very sorry but I had no fluid around the baby and there was no way the baby would make it. I argued with her and told her that this would be the second time this hospital broke news like that to me and I didn’t believe her. She went on to say that she wanted to schedule me for a D&C since the risk of infection was so high for me. I was full of “What ifs”, like “What if I stay on bed rest?”, and “What if I drink lots of water?”, and “What if they give me antibiotics?” For every objection, she answered the same, “I’m sorry, this baby has no chance of making it, and if it does, it’ll be extremely disabled.” I told her then that the God I know can do anything! I prayed and prayed and promised God that if this baby made it, I’d tell everyone about His miracle. My husband and I scheduled an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Specialist for the next day. The Maternal Fetal Specialist conducted an u/s to check the baby’s growth and organs with good results. She also found that I had a partial previa and that was the reason for the bleeding. She said that although chances were slim that I would hold onto the baby until viability (23 weeks), she said, “Never say never.” I stayed at home on bed rest for the next 3 ½ weeks, and then they admitted me to the hospital and administered antibiotics and steroids. I continually leaked fluid and bled. At first I would leak/bleed about once a week, then the further along I got, the more often it would happen. In the days before I delivered, I leaked continuously throughout the day and bled heavily at least once a day. For the whole time I was in the hospital, the doctors said that even if I carried the baby to term, it would most likely not survive due to the amount of time it had been without fluid. However, every u/s showed a healthy, moving baby with a strong hb. At 27 weeks 5 days, I began bleeding at 1:00 AM and it would not stop. At 4:30 AM, the doctors decided to do an emergency C-section, and at 5:45 AM our son Isaiah was born. Before they whisked him away to the NICU, I caught a glimpse of him and he was very pink (a good sign!) In the next few hours, he was put on a ventilator which collapsed one of his lungs. The doctors were able to fix it and put him on another type of ventilator which kept his lungs inflated. Later that day I was able to see him for the first time. He was so tiny and looked so fragile. In the days and weeks that followed, Isaiah had people all over the world praying for him. It was the most heartwarming part of our ordeal. God is good! Isaiah was born at 2lbs. 8ozs., went down to 1lb 15ozs. and then started climbing and hasn’t looked back. He’s now 3lbs. 8ozs, off the ventilator and looking to start bottle-feeding this week. He may have to be on oxygen for a while until his lungs get healthy, but he got off the ventilator about a week after he was born and hasn’t needed it since. As I said earlier in this story, I promised God that I would share His miracle with everyone and I intend to keep my promise. Doctors need to know that they don’t know everything and are not in control of everything. “Never say never.” Make sure you ask questions and trust your instincts before you automatically put your trust in doctors. I cringe when I think about what could’ve happened had I listened to either the doctor who told me there were no live fetuses, or the one who advised me to terminate my pregnancy because my water broke. Also, I kick myself for not insisting on having an ultrasound in the ER. If you’re reading this and are in the same situation, start praying and trust that no matter what, God will watch over you. It may or may not be His Will that your baby makes it, but whatever happens He will see you through. Just pray for strength and thank Him for every day.