By Danete B, Placerville, Ca Usa
PROM at 16 weeks + 1 days. Delivery at 16 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2010-01-27

My husband and I had dome IVF for male factor infertility five times. Each ended in an early miscarriage. We finally decided we needed to do donor sperm. I was so sick from all the IVF meds. I had such severe hot flashes that were lasting months. But we went ahead with the IUI using donor sperm anyway. My Doctor said my symptoms from IVF meds would not effect my chances at pregnancy. I was pregnant on our first try and we were over the emotions of donor and just happy to be pregnant. I began bleeding after a walk in the snow at 5 wks. It was so slight, just spotting until 8 wks. My first OB appointment at 8wks showed a healthy baby, high heart rate and the bleeding the doctor thought, was from an irritated cervix and not coming from where the baby was. I told my Ob I was not being 'intimate' with hubby to be extra cautious. The bleeding stopped around 9 weeks. Then at 10 weeks it was darker, more mucus in excessive abundant amounts of thick globs. My OB said it was not to worry. I demanded an appointment and when she examined she said the bleeding was coming from behind the cervix where the baby was, but the baby looks ok and the excessive mucus looks normal. My cervix was 1cm dilated onthe outside but she said that was fine as the blood coming out will do this. I went home so unsure. She had me on bed rest and I followed it very closely. By week 11 the bleeding was the same and by week 12 the mucus increased. Nausea had been 24/7 since week 7 and I had been taking an anti-neasuea pill daily prescribed by my OB called Zofran. It caused such constipation that severe is too gentle of a description. When I went to the bathroom I was always terrified to have to push but the bleeding and mucus never increased after going and it was always a relief to see that pushing didn't cause more harm. Weeks 12, 13 & 14 went by unchanged. I noticed that when I walked to the restroom the blood and mucus would just ooze out. But if I stayed laying, there was nothing to be seen four hours... until I walked again. Bed rest was mandatory. At the end of week 15 I was sitting up and felt a trickle. I checked my panty liner and saw nothing and figured I must be hot and sweating a little maybe. That night I was walking into the shower and felt a sharp pain in my vaginal area like a knife tabbing pain, quick and short that traveled several inches. I went to bed. That morning I woke and ate breakfast, nausea at week 16 was so much better. I was getting dressed and felt like I was peeing. When I moved it happened again. I asked my hubby who looked up PROM and the info said it was nothing to worry about unless it was enough to 'fill a pad'. He proceeded to get a measuring cup and pour it onto a pad to see how much it holds and I put a pad on to see how much I was loosing. I laid down immediately and it stopped. I called my OB who said to come in. But when I stood there was a big gush of clear, sweet smelling fluid. I got in the car and called on my cell to ask my Doctor if I could go into my local hospital that was closer than my insured hospital. They said no, this was not labor and not an emergency situation. I was so mad because we live in the mountains and my hospital is over and hour away. When we got there, I stupidly got out of the car rather than requesting a stretcher and assistance. The second I used muscles to move I felt mass amounts of fluid soaking my entire pants down my legs and seat area and through the heavy pad I was wearing. I went into ER where they acted very calm as I panicked to be able to lay down, they wanted me to fill out paper-work. I bedded to lay down and finally grabbed a wheel chair and laid across the seat, fet up in the air, head hanging down, back aching and going numb but gravity holding water in. After paperwork the nurse slowly pushes me to my room where he asks me to get up onto the bed. I lost more water. A nurse comes in and asks me questions about what happened and rolls another bed next to mine, asks me to get onto it. I said I could loose more water. the nurse said "It's probably just pee, nothing to worry". I knew otherwise! I roll over and loose more water. Come to find out, that nurse just needed my bed and had put me on the wrong bed and needed it back and wasn't even treating me and was just nosy about my case. The Dr comes in who admits he knows nothing abut this and calls labor and delivery who says that I am 16 weeks and they only admit the earliest at 20 weeks. My OB happened to be working that day and stopped in when they told her. She did a non sterile digital exam, poked at my closed cervix and and ultrasound. There was absolutely no water left around our little boy. The bouncing baby at our last ultrasound was now laying flat on his back, hands at his sides, darkness all around him with my insides crushing him from not having water around him. They said I needed to terminate. That he'd be born not breathing, live a few hours at best, blind, deformed, deaf and listed all the possibilities. I said no. I went home to think. I searched online and found amnio-infusion where they replace the lost fluid. The Dr said the tear was too big and it wouldn't stay in. I found something called amnio-patch, a glue patch they inject over the hole and let fluid build back up. Something made for amniocentesis rupture difficulties. They said no, just no the Dr wouldn't do it. They said I'd get infection soon and possibly die and I need to make a choice of expected management care or to terminate. At the time, I didn't know what expected management was. I thought it meant a choice of labor and delivery or D&E surgery. I said "if I deliver will he be born alive" the Dr said most likely no. So I chose the D&E. The Dr said he'd sleep just like me under the anesthesia and I didn't want him to feel pain. It wasn't until AFTER the D&E that I learned what expected management was. He was taken from us at 16 weeks 3 days, healthy and perfect. There was no sign of cause but the amniotic fluid was infected and they could not identify the bacteria. My OB said it was most likely an infection from after the water broke but we can never know. I never went into labor, my cervix was closed and there was never any answers. I think the IVF medications caused a placental growth attachment problem that didn't manifest until the baby was heavier and as a result caused placental abruption that caused a clot that sat on his bag of water eroding it away until it ruptured. But this is all my assumptions and we can never know for sure. I know one thing for sure. Trust your body, be diligent about what you want and need and be your own advocate when no one else will. I'm pregnant again and doing just that. Almost 6 weeks and no signs of trouble like before at this time. We can only pray and monitor as best as possible.