By Lynette, Edmonton, Alberta Canada
PROM at 13 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 33 weeks + 6 days.
Story added: 2006-06-28

I woke up from a nap and found myself soaking wet. My pjs and sheets were covered in blood and mucous (sorry TMI). I stood up and then I started leaking a clear fluid that I couldn't stop. I knew it was my amniotic fluid.

I went to emergency and waited for 6 hours to be seen. They don't consider pregnancies before 24 weeks to be urgent. The emergency room doctor kept trying to convince me that I had just peed the bed. She was unable to do a nitrazine test because of the bleeding. Turns out that I had 2 subchorionic hemorrhages. I didn't think too much of the bleeding because I bleed through all my pregnancies (reason for my PPROM probably). It had me concerned that the bleeding was really heavy though. The OB resident examined me and told me that my baby was probably dead. They kept asking if I did cocaine (no) and finally they must have done a drug test because they quit asking. The OB resident admitted me so they could do a D&C in the morning.

I phoned my husband who flew in to be with me. Just before he arrived they did an ultrasound. And lo and behold, there was my baby with a heartbeat and moving. The OB told me that the baby would probably die by the morning, and to not get my hopes up. My husband tried to not get excited. The OB asked if the baby was planned. I told her that the baby would decide whether it was going or staying. In the morning the baby was still alive on the ultrasound. The hospital sent me home on bedrest.

I stayed on bedrest until about week 28. I then did modified activities. I never had sex, which my OBs all said was the easiest way to introduce bacteria and thus a possible infection. I tried to not pick my toddler up because the doctors told me not to lift anything.

I leaked again around week 31. Not a big gush though. My amniotic fluid levels never were higher than the "low end of normal". My latest levels were decent at a 6 after the last leak. I was hospitalized and given steroid shots at week 32. During our OB appointment at week 33 I expressed my concern of infection. I think we had averted it for almost 20 weeks so would it be possible to deliver early. My OB said she likes to deliver PROM babies at 34-36 weeks. So we agreed the following week to have a c- section.

Baby Keagen arrived and yelled. He was taken to NICU because he was grunting. He stopped grunting within the hour. They kept him so they could administer antibiotics for 48 hours because of my PROM. He is still there because he is too lazy to eat well. This is because he is a preemie and has jaundice not because of the PROM. We hope to take him home within 2 weeks.

I just wanted to give someone else hope. Especially, because we had PPROM so early in the pregnancy.

Lynette and Scott