By Peita Gardiman, Sydney, NSW AustraliaMy first pregnancy was textbook perfect followed by a full term, healthy baby. This pregnancy proved to be different… starting at 8 weeks when I began to spot blood for unknown reasons. Then at 12 weeks after an ultrasound was performed and our baby looked great we were reassured that everything was fine. At 16 weeks and 5 days I noticed a trickle, my husband and I went to the emergency department and it became a gush that when the rollercoaster ride of my life began.
PROM at 16 weeks + 4 days. Delivery at 31 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2006-03-02
Over the next few days I had a couple of ultrasounds and found my AFI was down to 1.8 (when it should be around 15-20). The doctor that met with us was a High Risk Pregnancy specialist; he was compassionate but said there was little chance that the baby would make it. He said that while the baby was OK right now there was not enough fluid for future growth, and it was very unlikely that the membrane would reseal. He said that it was surprising that I had not gone into labour already, and that there was only a 10% chance of baby surviving. If baby did survive there was a high risk of brain damage, lung development problems, deformed limbs etc because there would not be enough fluid for baby to grow properly. In addition, with a hole somewhere in the sack there was a high risk of infection getting into the uterus and causing brain damage. We were devastated and felt totally helpless. The doctors advised us repeatedly to terminate as the odds were so much against us. Termination just didn’t feel right to me, even though most people around me were convinced it was the best thing for me to do. I knew this was going to be a long journey and the hardest time in our lives. But I knew I could not give up on my child.
I then went on the Internet to see what I could find out about pprom as the doctors had not offered me any constructive advice….I put myself on full bed rest, started taking vitamins and vegetable juices and protein milkshakes and increased my water intake. After a few weeks of difficult bed rest considering I had a 20 month old toddler, my daily fluid loss stopped and an ultrasound showed my AFI level was up to 10, with the baby sitting breech. I was ecstatic! I thought everything was going to be fine. Then 4 days later I felt the baby move back to head down position and I woke up in the morning with light bleeding and fluid loss. An ultrasound showed my AFI was back down to 1.7. From then on I continued to loose fluid daily. Every day would be one step closer, I would painfully count each week never knowing what was going to happen.
At 26 weeks I insisted on being admitted to hospital and received my first round of steroids. An US showed the baby weighed about 900g and my AFI was 2.1. This was an incredibly hard time, being away from my family, stuck in hospital just waiting and waiting for something to happen, then after a few weeks of nothing much happening except for the constant fluid loss, I started to bleed and have a few tightening. At 28 weeks I was transferred to another hospital 1.5 hours from home where there were more NICU beds available, amazingly everything settled back down and I was sent back to my original hospital. I could not believe I was still pregnant.
Then at 31 weeks I started bleeding again. The doctors were assuming it was the placenta pulling away, and decided to wait and see rather than inducing me, hoping for a little more time with my baby inside. At 31+5 the bleeding increased to such a stage as I was feeling light headed. I was again rushed in an ambulance to a new hospital with NICU beds available, this time 2 hours from home. Within a few minutes of arriving in the delivery suite I went into labour. A few hours latter our baby boy Laith Gardiman was born. He weighed 1.6kg (3lb) and let out a cry. The emotion we experienced when we heard that sound is indescribable and still brings tears to my eyes. We had made it…
Laith was rushed away from me and the next time I saw him he was connected to tubes and monitors and surrounded by doctors and noises. They blew a hole in his lung when they tried to ventilate him as his tiny body was so fragile. Over the next weeks Laith started to take small amounts of milk and then started to come off his CPAP for a few hours at a time. The doctors were amazed that he was doing so well, and told us that they had expected him to be so much worse. With all the horrible predictions we had, Laith had turned out perfect except for his extremely weak lungs. He is a miracle. I keep thinking now as I go to hospital each day and visit him, imagine if I had listened to the doctors….
The ladies on the PROM support group ran by this website were my rock during those 6 months. In the beginning, they answered my questions and listened to my fears and then at the end, they cried with me and thanked God with me. It was the most wonderful support I’ve ever felt. Good luck to all you PROM queens out there. You too, must believe that there is always room for a miracle.