Pregnancy Mystified: Rachel

Pregnancy Mystified is a new series by and on Mommy Mundo.  Stemming from the response received to Patty Hizon’s preeclampsia story, the series seeks to shed light on unusual pregnancy and birth stories by sharing the unique experiences of moms in the community.  These are real moms and real stories that all moms can learn from. 

Many, if not everyone, is aware that some babies are born premature, approximated at one out of every ten babies.  What many might not realise is that there are a number of reasons behind preterm births.  One such complication is known as PPROM or preterm premature rupture of membranes.  This pregnancy complication occurs in only 3% of pregnancies, and it can lead to various complications for both infant and mother.

“James and I had never heard of this before it happened to me,” shares Rachel Kelly Davis. “And it was so so unexpected especially because my first pregnancy was so uneventful.”

An unexpected occurrence

At 27-weeks of pregnancy, just three days before a scheduled ultrasound to check on the baby’s growth before the holiday season hit, Rachel woke up at 2:30am to a wet bed.  “It was confusing. I thought that my bladder had betrayed me and I had peed the bed, and at first I was annoyed with myself,” she said.

Instinct told her to smell the liquid.  “I still don’t know why I did it. Maybe it’s because I already felt like it didn’t smell like pee, and also because somehow I knew my water had broken even if I hadn’t had the experience of my water breaking during my first pregnancy.”

A true millennial, she quickly Googled how to know if her water had broken and how to check.  She took the advice of lying down for half an hour and then standing up again to see if more fluid comes out.  Upon standing, no fluid flowed, but again instinct guided her to check and upon wiping she saw that she was bleeding.

Immediately they went to the emergency room, and as soon as they arrived she was put in the birthing center to determine the situation.  “I was put ‘upside down’ so to speak, at a 45 degree angle with my head oriented towards the floor so that I wouldn’t leak out any fluid. An ultrasound showed that my baby had only about 20 or 30% of the needed amniotic fluid remaining, and that I was slightly dilated.”

Assessing the situation

The doctors presented them with options, worst case scenarios, and best case scenarios.  The best case would be that the bag would heal and reseal, and they would be able to refill the fluid both via IV drip and by her water intake, two things that were started immediately.  This scenario could take anywhere from a few days to months, which means she would have to be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy or at the very least until 34 weeks, the doctors having reminded her that in the third trimester (which she had just entered) every day is crucial and the baby’s development is rapid.  The worst case scenario would be that the fluid wouldn’t refill, the baby would go into distress and she would deliver that night.

“I was optimistic,” she said. “I was almost sure that the bag would reseal and I would be home by the end of the week and just have to be on bed rest.”

Apart from the IV fluids, her doctors injected her with steroids to help the baby’s lung’s mature.  They gave her magnesium to help the baby’s brain, and they asked her to take amino acids for strength and muscle development.  “We made a joke that our baby was bodybuilding already, taking steroids and amino acids!”

Despite their outward optimism and good spirits, Rachel admits that it was difficult. “The angle made it difficult to rest, the magnesium made my head hurt, I wasn’t really allowed to move, and I was worried. First I was worried about the baby. Each time they would assist me in going to the bathroom I would ask if any more blood had come out. Second I was worried about my daughter at home and how this would disrupt her daily routine with me.”

Emergency delivery

After a day and a half in the hospital, Rachel was still hopeful that she would be home by the end of the week, but had also accepted that she might be in the hospital for seven weeks.  She’d had her laptop brought to her, she was coordinating with her colleagues to let them know and to provide what information she could on the projects with immediate needs, she had given instructions to her staff, and she was in constant communication with her family as they couldn’t visit her due to COVID restrictions.

“The baby had remained stable most of the day, and so my confidence was growing.  I had just said goodnight to my family and was about to try and sleep, when the doctors and nurses came in and said that the baby had actually been showing signs of distress and though I couldn’t feel it most of the time, I was having contractions and so they had to prep me for an emergency-C. Immediately I called James to let him know we’d be delivering that night.”

Rachel shares that she never wanted a c-section.  Her first child was delivered normally, and she had actually intended to try a natural birth or a water birth for their second.  The situation left zero room for options and error, however, and less than 48-hours after first having woken up to a wet bed she was wheeled into the delivery room.

A little fighter is born

Her son was born at exactly 11 o’clock at night, and was immediately brought to the NICU.  Despite his early birth he was doing well, with a good Apgar score that showed he was in good health and didn’t require him to be intubated (a common necessity for premature babies).  Rachel was brought to recovery.

Making sense of it all

It was in the days that followed that they began to fully understand what had happened.  PPROM or the preterm premature rupture of membranes was explained to her and understood as best they could.  Statistically it is more likely to occur among smokers, drug users, African and African American patients, and those with STDs.  Rachel does not fall into any of these categories.  Other factors can predispose a woman to PPROM, such as certain infections and a decrease in collagen, or stress, but most resources will say that there is no single cause of the occurrence, which can lead many mothers mystified as to why and how it happens.

Additionally, there is no way to prevent it from happening.  Mothers are always advised to eat healthy, do light exercises, and get enough rest during pregnancy, but even following these to a T cannot prevent PPROM if it will occur.  The only thing that can be done is to respond quickly if PPROM is suspected, which is why Rachel now believes in increasing the awareness of these types of incidents. 

“We were incredibly lucky,” she says. “I felt nothing except the wetness so I could have just as easily assumed I peed myself and then gone back to bed. We were lucky to have gone to the hospital when we did, to have had the amazing medical team that made the decisions needed to keep both of us safe, and that our baby is so strong. So many things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. We beat a lot of odds, and it reminded me that anything can still happen during pregnancy, which is why each baby really is a miracle.”

Follow this story as more of it is told through a series of articles that are meant to shed light on premature babies and their care. Together with Mommy Mundo founder, Janice Villanueva, Mommy Mundo Web Content Head, Rachel Kelly Davis will be heading the Mommy Mundo Preemie Parents Support League for parents of preemies and micro preemies.