By Jodi, Phoenix, AZ USAMy story is the most horrific nightmare and I never dreamed I'd be writing it here. After many many losses in my family, my mother and I were thrilled that I was pregnant. I am single, and used frozen donor sperm. I spent years preparing to be able to have a child on my own.. the great job, the new house, the new car.. everything. I waited to be financially and emotionally ready. All the while I dreamed of being a mother.
PROM at 20 weeks + 1 days. Delivery at 22 weeks + 2 days.
Story added: 2004-06-05
Everything was great.. but I spotted brown with some small clots at 10 weeks. Spotted brown every day until week 15. Dr. told me no reason found. At 17 weeks 5 days I went to the ER due to painless red bleeding... 2 pads worth. It stopped on its own. They found no reason for the bleeding. Dr. said placenta was a bit low, and I may bleed again as it moves up while my uterus grows.
One night (at 20 weeks 1 day) after watching a movie on the couch, I got up to go to the restroom and there was a huge gush of fluid. The ER dr. said it didn't test positive for being amniotic fluid. U/S showed normal fluid levels (10.5) so I was sent home. The next day while resting, I gushed again and continued to leak. I couldnt see my OB till the next morning. By then, the U/S at her office showed zero fluid around my baby. I was devastated.
Immediately I was told that it was not good, and that she could not survive with no fluid. I was told I would probably start contracting soon and would lose her within 72 hours.
I was admitted to the hospital for two days as a precaution to get IV antibiotics. I had no infections at all.
The perinatologist told me that I would be sent home on strict bedrest, and if I made it to 23 weeks,I would be admitted back into the hospital and go from there. He wanted to monitor my fluid once a week.
After a week, my fluid was still zero. I leaked every day every time I got up to use the bathroom. I also bled a little and even passed quite a large clot one day that scared me to death.
Every day, my baby girl moved alot, even without fluid. She would curl up on my right side (her favorite spot) and I'd lay in bed and watch my belly move. I talked to her, sang to her, rubbed my belly, played music for her... all the things I had become so used to doing for so long.
At 22 weeks 1 day, I got up to use the bathroom and felt a strange sensation. Felt like there was a tampon in there... so I bent over to look. To my horror, the cord was coming out of me. I knew it was over.
In the hospital, her heartrate was in the low 100's. She had been so strong for 2 weeks, this was something she couldn't fight.
I went into labor at 3:15am on 5/27/04. My heart rate crashed when they gave me an epidural (at one point my pressure was 35/23) because the medicine numbed me up to my chest which it should not have. I had to be given a shot of epinephrine to get my heart going. Very scary.
After 12.5 hours of labor, my beautiful baby girl Nia was born. She was 11.5 inches, 1.02 pounds, perfect and angelic.
The Dr who delivered my placenta commented that I must have bled in the pregnancy. He showed me that the placenta had been clotted in spots, probably abrupting.
This is the most horrific nightmare... surely there is nothing worse than losing your child.
One day I may want to try to get pregnant again, but I know it will scare me to death. I am so angry and in despair over losing my daughter. I pray for those who are trying to get thru after PPROM. I hope there are more women out there who will not lose their babies.
My beautiful butterfly Nia
"As you danced in light with joy, love lifted you.
As you brushed against this world so gently, you lifted us."