Success stories of little blessings against the odds
They told us we are one in a million,
we believe with the right care more can follow
Rose Jordan story
PPROM Suspected at 16 weeks confirmed 18weeks, Joshua born at 30 weeks 1 day
Born in the USA
I found out I was pregnant with my youngest son in June of 2013. I didn't get my first appointment until July. I was on birth control when I found out I was pregnant so this baby was most definitely NOT planned! I figured I was about 7 weeks along at the time. One night when I woke up to use the bathroom (before my first appointment) I was SOAKED!! I thought I had peed on myself but couldn't figure out how I wouldn't have known I peed on myself in my sleep. Thinking nothing more of it I changed and went back to sleep. This happened every night up until my first appointment. I didn't even think to mention it to my doctor.
At my first appointment, I found at that I was already around 18 weeks. A couple days later my doctor called me saying he was referring me to a specialist because one of the tests came back abnormal and it showed there being a slight chance that my son may have spina bifida. I was heartbroken but went to the specialist a couple days later. During the ultrasound, I watched the screen but the entire screen was almost completely black.
He cleared my son of spina bifida but then asked me if I had been leaking anything at all. Initially I said no but then remembered I had been. He then informed me that it looked like my water had broken prematurely. He immediately admitted me to the hospital for a week on strict bed rest and told me that with him being VERY optimistic he gave my son less than 10% chance of survival but that he truely didn't think he would make it. My regular OB came to see me in the hospital and said I could either abort my child or stay pregnant and let nature take over. Being against abortion I said I would keep him and let nature take over.
I was put on antibiotics in the hospital and put on modified bed rest at home once I was released. I was seen at least once a week and was given ultrasounds every other week at the most.
Fast forward to October of 2013. I moved across the country while still pregnant and with my then, almost 2 year old son. When I arrived at my new home on Friday I went to find a new doctor that following Monday. When I got to the hospital the doctors ran a million tests and tested my son in utero and he failed every one of them. They admitted me right away and gave me a dose of magnesium via IV.Come Wednesday morning I let my nurses know that I hadn't felt my son move for a couple of days and they hooked me up to the monitor that checks his heart rate.
A couple hours later they came in and told me I had to have him NOW because his heart rate had dropped down into the 30's and he was unable to bring it back up himself. at 30+1 weeks I delivered my PPROM baby via emergency C-Section. He weighed 2 pounds 14 ounces and was 14 inches long. He spent a long, hard 86 days in the NICU and came home on oxygen. He was on o2 for about a year. He is now almost 2 1/2 and is the happiest kid in the world! He currently has been diagnosed with High Functioning Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, and a Laryngeal Cleft.
Taylar Hough story
PPROM at 21weeks. Colt Ryder born at 26weeks + 1 days
Born in the USA
Here's my story: Ever since I was a little girl I've always wanted to have as many children as possible. I wanted to have several of my own, have step children, adopt, etc. I wanted to be the hippy mommy who breast fed until the baby no longer wanted it. I wanted to be the mommy that pushed for delayed cord clamping. I wanted to be the mommy who held her baby for hours right after birth. All of it. I had thought long and hard about my birth plan, had it set up, ready mentally for a term pregnancy.
One night at 21 weeks however my water broke while walking in my home. Fear came over me. I screamed to my husband as I was in shock. I remember saying, "What's happening!?" He responded, "Your water just broke we need to get you to the hospital now". I started crying hysterically. How can this happen?! No one told me that this could happen. As the ER nurse wheeled me to L&D, they all sadly stared at this heap of a woman slouching in the wheelchair sobbing uncontrollably trying to keep her legs crossed thinking anything would work. They put me in a room and confirmed it with a test... My water had indeed broke. My husband, father in law, mother, and step father were all in the room when I screamed out in heart wrenching pain, "I can't lose my baby!" My body had betrayed me. It had let me down. The one thing a woman should be able to do is to have a child and protect it in and out of the womb. How could this happen to me... They told me to expect to go into labor within the next 48 hours. I had some anxiety medicine that helped me sleep so to this day I don't remember much of the following 4 days. They discharged me at 22 weeks saying there was nothing they could do for me and it'd be safer for me to be at home on bedrest than in the hospital. 3 days later I had back pains so readmitted myself to a different hospital with a Level 3 NICU. I was able to hold on somehow to my baby boy for an additional 5 weeks. There were many fears during that waiting period... I felt humiliated, I felt alone, all the negative statistics the doctors were giving me left me feeling helpless... I began getting spontaneous contractions at 26 weeks.
They became as close as every 4 minutes on the dot. They weren't pulling up on the monitor so the nurses didn't believe me at first because I was breathing through them, however after several hours they put me on magnesium. The next day, I started bleeding slightly so they wheeled me to the OR with my husband. While sitting up to get my spinal block for the c-section, I remember feeling a gush.
They laid me back down and said I was bleeding out... and fast.
They quickly pushed my husband out of the room and began sedating me. I refused to put on my mask, hollering at the anesthesiologist that he couldn't put me under until he promised to pray for my baby. He kept saying, "Ok now put this on" and I refused. I screamed, "PROMISE YOU'LL PRAY FOR MY BABY!" He finally promised. That was all I remember of my sons birth.
I started pumping as soon as I woke up. Fast forward several months in the Nicu and Picu. My son never had it easy. He got a bacterial infection when he was only a couple weeks old, he got pnuemonia twice, 3 trach gram negative infections, and a viral infection.
After it all, he was required to get a trach and g-tube/nissen. We are finally talking discharge. PPROM mommies... we all have horrific stories. We all are marked with the scars of memories we wish we could forget. But always remember, those memories make us stronger. They make us stand out from the rest because we know the true value of life. We make the small milestone into big milestones.
We know every smile, every kiss, every wiggle MEANS something. I hope we are able to bring PPROM awareness to more because I wish so badly to have known more about this when I was the scared new FTM being told all the negative statistics.
Kate Tobin PPROM story
PPROM at 22 weeks. Nicholas born 30weeks
Born in the US
On this day one year ago, my water broke (not all the way) at 22 weeks with my son. I was sent to virtual labor and delivery. They did a test on me to see if my water broke and they said it came out negative and I must have peed myself...which I didn't think I did. I called the doctor that Monday and they said to come in asap.
I went in and he did the same test the hospital did and it came out positive.
The look on his face scared me so much because he looked like he wanted to cry for me but at that time I didn't know why he looked like that until he sat us down and explained.
He told me to go Cooper hospital since they handle premature babies and also told me that when a baby is born at 22 weeks NO chance of survival. Usually, when the water breaks.. a woman delivers within 48 hours.
When he said that I was in shock...complete shock. Like why me...why us...
I went to Cooper hospital and they did the same test and came out negative. I'm like wow! Is it negative or positive!!!?? So a student doctor came in and tried to convince me!! To abort my baby!!! I couldn't believe my ears!!! She said if your baby is born he won't survive and if you make it to 24 weeks he will be deaf, blind, mentally challenge!
I said he has a heart beat no F***-ing way! So they kept me for 48 hours and I didn't go into labor! Thank god!! I was sent home on bed rest and told to come back in 2 weeks at
24 weeks when the can actually help me and my son.
So I lay in bed for 2 weeks wondering if my son will die or live or what will happen to him...will I have a child in a wheelchair, will I have to learn sign language, or where will he live when Tim and I are too old to take care of him... to even thinking about a funeral frown emoticon I was a complete mess.... I made it to 24 weeks...
I went back to the hospital and they still couldn't confirm my water broke. So they did the blue dye test. They injected blue dye into my sac. And told me to insert a tampon and remove it after 4 hours and if it was blue then my water did break.
Summary of my journey as follows,
I PPROM at 22 weeks and delivered at 30 weeks. My son Nicholas is now 10 months old. I just went into labor on 30 weeks on the dot. No infections. He was in the NICU for 6 1/2 weeks. He was sent home with no issues. 1 week after he came home he stopped breathing, I had performed CPR. The same day he received his 2-month shots, even though technically he wasn't like a 2 month I would have only been 37 weeks pregnant.
Anyway, the doctors wouldn't blame the shots, they blamed it on reflux.
He was sent home on the apnea monitor and hasn't had an episode since. He was born at 3lbs 5oz. 16 1/2 inches. He's now. 18.8lbs and 27 1/2 inches and doing great!
Mum
PPROM at weeks. born at weeks
Born in the UK