By Tina, Clayton, NJ USA
PROM at 17 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 23 weeks + 4 days.
Story added: 2006-08-25

In June Mike and I had decided that it was the right time to try to have a baby. It did not take long for us to become pregnant. By mid July I discovered I was pregnant. We were both thrilled! I called the Doctor right away to be seen. I have a condition called anti JKA which is very rare. Basically my pregnancy would need to be monitored closely due to antibodies that my body would produce that would basically find the baby to be like a germ and attack. It is something that happens later in the pregnancy and by monitoring the baby closely they can determine if the baby is being affected. By my 6th week of pregnancy I began spotting. I went straight to the doctor and an ultrasound was done. The baby was fine and they could not determine where the bleeding was coming from. There was basically nothing they could do. Not something I wanted to hear. A few weeks later I began to bleed even more. Again an ultrasound was done and they detected a subchorionic hematoma. This was the cause of the bleeding. I was sent home again and told again that there was nothing they could do. At 14 weeks I had some major bleeding. I was at work when it happened. I called Mike and my doctor and was told to get right to the hospital. At the hospital we waited hours! Because the pregnancy was not considered a viable pregnancy we were not rushed to the Maternity Ward but remained in the ER. When we were finally taken back we were told that the baby again was fine but this time I was put on complete bedrest until the bleeding stopped. I was told I could not work. I continued to see both my OBGYN and a a high risk doctor weekly. The pregnancy was going great other then the bleeding. I had all the normal bloodwork done and when one test came back that I had a high risk of down syndrome and Spinal Bifidia I was told I should have an amniocentisis done. Not only would they test for both of the above but they wanted to check the baby to see if he tested positive for Anti JKA. On Oct 26th we had the amnio done. Everything seemed to go well. One risk of having the amnio done is that I could leak amniotic fluid. I have had many of these performed and never had any problem. On Halloween, 6 days after my amnio, I was sitting on the couch when I felt a gush of fluid. I was so scared! I was not sure what this was. I called my doctor and he told me to get right to the hospital. Mike was on his way home from work and I called him to tell him what happened. Once he got home we went right to the hospital. They ran tests and told me that the fluid was actually urine and that my water did not break. They said if I had another instance to call my doctor right away. We did not even get to the elevators when it happened again! I turned right around and went back. Again they ran tests and said it was urine and that the baby was putting pressure on my bladder. I went home and went about my business but still out of work. On Novemeber 16th I was scheduled for my 20 week ultrasound. As soon as the tech put the machine on I noticed something was not right. The tech asked me if I was leaking any fluid. I told her yes and that I was told by the hospital that it was urine. She then told me that the baby barely had any fluid. She called in the doctor. The doctor had a horrible look on her face. She said that I actually leaked all of my amniotic fluid. I was then sent home on strict bedrest. I was only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom. I was told to drink plenty of water and to come back in one week. They were hoping the hole in my amniotic sac would reseal and the fluid would reaccumulate. This is the day our nightmare began.

Mike took over doing everything in the house including cooking dinner, doing homework, cleaning the house, and being a taxi for the kids. We went back one week later and the tech said that there was even less fluid around the baby. The doctor came in and said that at this point he did not believe the hole would seal. He said basically that the baby would not survive and I could go into labor at anytime or develop an infection. He recommended aborting the pregnancy. I cried! I couldnt do it. I wanted to talk to my OBGYN to see what he thought. I called him and he said that there is still a chance that it could seal with strict bedrest. This gave us hope. There was no way I could abort a pregnancy in which our little guy had a strong heartbeat. I was told once I hit 24 weeks I would then be in the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. My doctor wanted me to make it to at least 28 weeks for the baby to have a better chance of survival. For the next several weeks I was in bed. Every morning before Mike left for work he filled my jug with water and made sure I had everything I needed. My mom came over to take the kids to school. I just laid in bed all day, everyday. On December 4th I got up to go to the bathroom. I noticed I was again bleeding heavily. I was really scared and knew something was wrong. Something just didnt feel right. I called the doctor and was again told to get to the hospital. Because now the pregnancy was considered viable I was taken right up to the maternity ward. I was placed in the triage room. The doctors came in and did an internal exam. I saw the doctor's face and she had a very upsetting expression. She then said, "I see the cord." The cord that was nourishing the baby and giving him oxygen had dropped down through the cervix. The baby's heartbeat was irregular. Dropping down to 90bpm and then up to over 200bpm. The cord was compressed. The doctor who examined me called my doctor. He wanted to talk to one of us. I was too upset to talk because I knew what he was going to say. Mike talked to him on the phone and was told that they would need to induce labor. There was nothing more they could do. The baby would not survive. It was still our decision to wait or induce however. I was admitted into the hospital. Mike and I had to make a decision. After a few hours I began to have contractions. We decided to induce. We both cried. At 4am on Dec 5th they gave me the medications that would bring labor on. I was then taken to labor and delivery. At 4:38 am Michael was born. He still had a heartbeat but was unable to breath. He was not even trying to take a breath. The lack on amniotic fluid caused his lungs to not develop. The pediatrician examined him and said he could do nothing. We held Michael when he died. We took many pictures of him. are The nurse had said he was so red from lack of amniotic fluid. I did not even notice it. He was the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. I know he felt loved as he passed. Our little angel is now watching down on us from Heaven. Mike made a comment that he now has a guardian angel.