By Emma Compton, Buckinghamshire UKHi, my name is Emma and I am married to Gareth. We already had a healthy 2 year old son when I became pregnant for the secong time.
PROM at 19 weeks + 6 days. Delivery at 33 weeks.
Story added: 2007-12-14
At 6 weeks into the pregnancy I experienced some bleeding and was taken to hospital where a scan showed everything was fine. So we put it down to a fluke and carried on with life.
At 11 weeks I had a major bleed and again was rushed to hospital and again a scan showed that the baby was fine. So on we went again.
Christmas came and went and I got a cold. At 1.00am on new years eve (19w and 6d), I gave an almighty cough and thought that I had wet myself, but fluid kept escaping and after an hour or so the realisation that my waters had broken began to sink in, so off to hospital we went, only this time the outcome was not so favourable. We were told that although the baby was technically fine it would not survive as I would inevitably go into labour within 48 hrs. The doctor was very unfeeling and cold towards me as if this was all my fault, she kept suggesting that I be induced to get it over with but I refused.
I was transferred to the ward to wait. I was still leaking fluid and after 48hrs a different doctor came and said that I would still go into very premature labour within another 48 hrs. This doctor was much better and much more sympathetic, she agreed with my plan to wait and see what happened and to let nature take its course. After that 48hrs was up, I was pleading to go home, so after some more consultation with various doctors, midwives and specialists most of whom tried to encourage me to terminate the pregnancy, I was allowed home on the proviso that I see a specialist nurse twice a week, had blood taken twice a week, monitored my own temperature at home 4 times a day and generally took it very easy. So the new regime began, and it is not easy to put your feet up and rest when you have a toddler so that part did not work.
All this time I continued to leak water and had scans weekly. At these scans I was consistently told I had a fluid level of 3.5cm and that it was rare to maintain this level in my condition. My regular nurse visits were fantastic, my nurse was great, helpful and sympathetic. We chatted and she told me about other patients she had known with the same problems. It was at this time, 24 Weeks, that I began using a Trace machine twice a week as well, to monitor the baby's heart rate and movements.
Around the same time my doctor visits deteriorated to a battle of wills, the doctor wanted me to terminate and I wanted to wait and let nature sort it out, she even arranged a visit with the hospital chaplain, which did not help as I am not Christian.
Next she organised a visit with a neo natal paediatrician, which I think aws meant to scare us, but just made us want the baby even more. The paediatrician told us that the likelihood was that if the baby survived birth then it would have severe breathing problems due to the lack of water affecting the lung development, it could also have fixed limbs and misshapen head due to the lack of water meaning that the baby couldn't move freely, also it would most likely have brain damage due to severe prematurity and that we should be prepared to live with all this. There was no question in our minds that this is what we wanted and so the pregnancy continued.
At 26 weeks I had 2 hormone injections to help with the lung development. I continued with my visits to the nurse and doctor and the trace machines continued to show movement although the doctor did not believe me when I told her that baby moved around quite a lot and asked to see the scan photos to prove that the baby had changed positions.
I had a couple of infection scares but they always turned out to be unrelated to my pregnancy. During all this time I had continued to lose water constantly although my fluid level stayed at 3.5cm but at 32 weeks the water turned pink which meant that aswell as losing water I was now bleeding as well.
This time I was admitted to the ward and monitored very closely, and after 3 days bed rest the bleeding and the water stopped leaking. The blood had sealed the water leak in the membranes and I wsa allowed home again. Unfortunately I only lasted 12 hours at home before the bleeding began in earnest and we went back to hospital. This time I was attached to the trace machine constantly, day and night and had to stay on the delivery ward.
As well as the constant trace machine, I had all vitals done every 2 hours even through the night and had regular consultations with the medical team (my doctor was away at a conference which was great!). I got a new doctor who i really liked and she said that if the bleeding stopped I could continue to wait it out but if I kept on bleeding I would have to have the baby, by caesarian section.
The bleeding did stop but then started again so I was booked in for a c-section. My first son was an emergency section under anaesthetic, so I was not concerned, but was excited to be awake for the birth. All went well and when the baby came out it cried, a loud healthy cry, it could breathe. That was the best sound I have ever heard, the Special Care Baby team whisked my son away and five minutes later a nurse came to see me to say that he was fine, perfect, 100% normal and healthy and a good weight at 5lb 1 1/2oz. When i was all stitched up we were taken to see him and he was beautiful, a pefect baby boy with big blue eyes.
I was overwhelmed and angry that I had bee told, coerced and encouraged to terminate this perfect child in front of me. I am so glad that I found the strength in myself and in my family and friends to nurture this baby and to give him a chance.
I now have 2 boys Daniel is 3 and my PPROM baby is 8 months