By Stacie, VA USAHI. My name is Stacie, and I happened across this site as I was searching for info about pregnancy after PROM. My husband and I are trying to decide if we want to try again. It's been a year and a half - but it still hurts like it was yesterday . . .
PROM at 24 weeks + 4 days. Delivery at 27 weeks + 1 days.
Story added: 2007-07-27
My PROM pregnancy began the second week in June, 2005. It was an unplanned pregnancy and a big surprise, especially since my only other pregnancy required the help of Clomid and timed ovulation. Since my first pregnancy went just fine, I didn't even think to worry about this one. But when I began having continuous spotting and occasional heavy bleeding (in the 1st trimester) we began to get concerned. Ultrasounds revealed no problems, so we went on as usual. I had bad morning sickness and hadn't gained much weight, and the bleeding continued with no other symptoms. Then around week 18 everything stopped and it was great. The 20 week ultrasound showed the baby was fine and that it was a boy. We were relieved. Then that very week I started having a watery, sometimes pinkish discharge. It had no smell, so although I didn't understand how it could be urine, I accepted my OB's statement that I was just having urinary incontinence and not to worry. Then at week 24 day 4, I felt like I'd run a marathon. Everything ached and I was exhausted. I took a shower to try to revive, but as soon as I got out, my water broke. I was terrified - as everyone is - and thought, well, this is it - the baby can't possibly make it. We'll have to be strong and deal with this tragedy. But at the hospital, to my surprise, I was told that I'd be transferred to another hospital and taken care of by different doctors who would try to hold off active labor for as long as possible, up to 30 weeeks. I had no other signs of labor, no infections, so they gave me antibiotics and steroids for the baby's lungs and put me on complete bedrest, with sonograms every two days to check the fluid levels (virtually none) and the baby's "practice breathing". After the 1st week, I was given bathroom priveledges (yay!)and my family settled in with me in the hospital, my 2 year old bouncing between grandparents, and my sister and parents running my business. My husband spent his time split between work, the hospital and visits with our 2 year old son. It was stressful, but it was our life - and we had it worked out. Then at 27 weeks, I felt as if I was coming down with the stomach flu. I became very grumpy, and in the wee hours of the next morning, I started contractions. They gave me meds to stop them, but when the contractions started again that afternoon, the doctors told me they were going to deliver because an infection had most likely set in. I moved through the labor really fast, and since the nurses kept putting the monitoring belt to high on my stomach (the baby was really low - he was so little and there was no fluid - you'd think they'd know that!), I was fully dilated and the baby's hand was out before they believed my statement that "it was time". Timmy was delivered on December 6, 2005. He of course went straight to the NICU, but he was feisty and strong and weighed a whopping 2 lbs, 1 oz. I had labored with no meds, which I didn't mind, but then had to deal with the OB trying to remove a retained placenta. After 30 min. of absolute agony, they put me under general anesthetic and did a D&C to remove the rest. Over the next days, Timmy made good progress, coming off the respirator almost immediately, then coming off the C-Pap to the nasal cannon, then just on the nasal cannon on "room air". Then after all that progress, he started to slide back, heart Bradys, back on the nasal cannon w/oxygen, back on the C-pap. My life was a carefully scheduled whirlwind of parenting a 2 yr old, running a business, traveling an hour and 15 min each way to the hospital every day or every other day, and squished in any spare moment, pumping breastmilk for the baby. There wasn't time for everything - but we tried to do it all anyway. What else could you do? Then early Dec. 29, 2005, the hospital called to tell us Timmy had come down with an intestinal infection overnight. Further phone calls to my cell as I traveled to the hospital revealed the true seriousness of the situation, and when I heard the words "necrotizing enterocolitis" my brain linked necro and death and I lost it. They transferred Timmy to aonther hospital for surgery, and we arrived just in time to speak to the doctors. We knew from the looks on their faces that we were losing him. A social worker was appointed to our case - and we were blessed to have our situation overheard by others in the waiting room who offered to pray with us. The surgery revealed that most of Timmy's intestines were dead, and the doctors removed almost all of them. Then we were told all we could do was wait to see if he turned one way or the other in the next hour or so. He did, he went downhill fast. All that worked was his heart and brain, and we were told to make the decision whether to take him off of life support or wait until his heart stopped on its own. When we went in to see him again he just looked like a shell, and since the outcome was the same, we decided to end his suffering and take him off the respirator. They kept him on morphine, and I got to hold him as he slipped away.
I just don't know of I can face this again. I'm ready and willing to do anything I can to prevent a similar outcome - but I've read that my risk of preterm labor is even higher now that I've had one already. I don't know what to do - I really want another baby and I'm so scared.