By Gina Miller, Canton,Oh. United States
PROM at 27 weeksDelivery at 32 weeks.
Story added: 2005-09-12

I woke up at three A.M. soaking wet. I had been tired and not feeling well when I went to bed and thought maybe I had broke a fever and was sweating. Got up to use the bathroom and felt the water rushing out between my legs. I immediately called the Dr., who told me to get to the ER. At this point I woke my husband who was convinced that I had wet the bed but we went to the hospital just in case. The intern in L&D confirmed that my membranes had ruptured but was hopeful that the pregnancy would progress. At this point the baby was only 1 lb. on ultrasound and they would do all they could to keep the pregnancy intact. Blessedly, I did not go into labor and did not develop infection. As the weeks went by, baby maintained enough fluid to survive in the womb and I concentrated on keeping my sanity in the hospital on total bedrest. It's a long road but possible with lots of prayer and support. I was allowed to shower each day and spend 10 minutes outside in a wheelchair if baby had a good night on the monitor. I really counted on that 10 minutes. My husband brought my three year old son to visit everyday. This was a mixed blessing. It was wonderful to have those moments with my son but so hard to let him go home. On bedrest day 49, the baby decided it was time to be born. Isaac was delivered at 32 1/2 weeks weighing 4lbs. 6 oz. He was not breathing on his own but really fought to make his way into the world. He spent 2 days on a vent. and 3 weeks on c-pap before he was finally breathing on his own. We had some scary nights especially when I was allowed to start breastfeeding. Isaac had a hard time figuring out how to swallow and breath at the same time. After about three weeks in the NICU the Dr.s discovered that Isaac had several heart defects, not sure if they were PROM related but definitely were worsened due to development in low fluid. We spent seven weeks in the NICU and then brought Isaac home. At three months of age he had open heart surgery to repair his heart. He is now almost 4 years old and amazing. You would never know he had such a hard start. What a miracle he is everyday. PROM is difficult and scary especially if you are on hospital bedrest but so worth the tears and long hours if you have that little miracle in the end. Hang in there and rely on all the support persons you can.