Pregnancy complications- water breaking early

[redshoes]

One of my very close friends has ended up in the hospital tonight, she is 24 weeks pregnant and her water broke early this AM. Has anyone experienced this and gone on to deliver a healthy baby? Is it possible to stay pregnant when your water has broken that early?

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Yikes...hugs to your friend...I know thats gotta be scary.
I dont have alot of info on it....but I think they can really only go about 72 hrs max after the water has broke to prevent infection (again, this is an "I think", I'm not a dr)... But, there ARE kids who are able to survive that premature. She'll need lots of support though.... Please keep us posted, I'm all about babies

 

[Traveliz]

One of my very close friends has ended up in the hospital tonight, she is 24 weeks pregnant and her water broke early this AM. Has anyone experienced this and gone on to deliver a healthy baby? Is it possible to stay pregnant when your water has broken that early?

She will most likely have to deliver but I will tell you this happened to my SIL 16 years ago with twins - so they were very early -- very small -- and didn't have the technology they do now and they are very healthy teens.

I hope it goes as well for your friend.

Liz

 

[chloelovesdisney]

This happened this past year to a family member. There was no way around it after her water broke and she had to deliver the twins. They were only 22 weeks and did not survive. Every week makes a difference at that stage, maybe at 24 weeks the lungs will be developed enough so even though they are teeny, they have a chance. Sorry about your friend and the baby.

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

It is possible to stay pregnant. As long as she does not get an infection in her uterus they will try to keep her pregnant fora long as possible. At 24 weeks it is a very LONG road ahead but it is possible.
Best wishes to your friend

 

[lemondog]

One of my friends had her water break at 21 weeks. She went on bedrest at the hospital and had to lay down, sometimes with her feet tipped up, for 10 weeks straight. Her baby was born healthy at 31 weeks, with only a couple of weeks in the NICU. It is definitely possible, depending on how bad the break is and where on the uterus it is.

 

[*BTMRR*]

How terrifying, I'm so sorry for your friend.
As long as the baby seems to be doing well and there's no sign of infection (they'll monitor the mom closely and probably have her on antibiotics, obviously she'll remain in the hospital for the duration), they will try to keep the baby inside as long as they can. I have a friend whose water broke at 25 weeks and they were able to postpone delivery until 27 weeks. The baby was in the hospital for a long time and had some issues with his retinas because of prematurity but he's perfectly healthy.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

One of my friends had her water break at 21 weeks. She went on bedrest at the hospital and had to lay down, sometimes with her feet tipped up, for 10 weeks straight. Her baby was born healthy at 31 weeks, with only a couple of weeks in the NICU. It is definitely possible, depending on how bad the break is and where on the uterus it is.

Thats great to know....that they can keep you pregnant longer even after the water breaks....hopefully they are able to do this with OPs friend!!

 

[MoniqueU]

Good thoughts for your friend and her baby. Keep us updated. And visit her as often as possible if they don't go ahead and deliver. I was on bedrest in the hospital with my second and I lived for visitors. Smuggle her in some of her favorite foods too. My aunt brought me maple bars and chocolate milk and it was like Christmas for me.

 

[redshoes]

I appreciate all the replies . The last thing I wanted to do is to ask my friend or her family my questions, because the last thing she needs right now are the WhatIfs from me. So I appreciate being able to come here and ask all the things that I wanted to.
She is currently in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics and they are running some tests to determine if it was a full on water break or a slow leak. She has a two year old at home and I'm sure that the road will be long and hard no matter the outcome. Right now all I can do is pray for her and her little family.

 

[RachelEllen]

I'm a neonatologist and see this very frequently.

It is possible to maintain a pregnancy at this stage. The next 48 hours are the most critical. If she keeps the pregnancy that long, she has a reasonable chance of going longer.

She will have to deliver if she starts showing signs of infection. Many OB's will not stop labor after membranes rupture for a similar reason.

At this point, the baby has a chance of survival. This chance goes way up every week longer she remains pregnant.

Best of luck to your friend.

 

[rparmfamily]

Prayers for your friend, I hope they are able to postpone delivery of the baby and give the baby more time inutero.

 

[kellyg403]

Many hugs to your friend...this is a very difficult time for her.

Many years ago, my water broke somewhere between 18 and 20 weeks. I was hospitalized at 20 weeks and maintained the pregnancy until 26 weeks. I never went into labor or anything until the 26th week. The dr's were optomistic as each day went by that I would make it to the magical 28/30 week time frame. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned but please know modern technology is a wonderful thing. So many things have changed and the doctors know so many news things.

The most important thing now for her is to be in the hospital getting those antibiotics/steroids to fight off infection and strengthen the babies lungs. I was placed in a position called 'trandelenburg' (not sure of the correct spelling) but basically my feet higher than my head so that any amniotic fluid being produced was kept in the uterus so the baby could maintain lung development. I had a headache for the first week or so but that was the most discomfort I had. Emotionally the situation is draining, but everyday she makes it is one day closer to the magical number the dr is looking for so if labor does start things look better. As another poster said, my dr would not stop labor once it started but I did stay in the hospital until delivery. So your friend could be looking at several weeks in the hospital. If she hasn't had contractions within the first couple days, that is a good thing.

Take care! PM if you need anything.

God Bless
Kelly

 

[mickeyboat]

It happened to me. My water broke at 31 weeks and I stayed in the hospital with antibiotics and steroids until it was determined her lungs were matured. I was induced at 34 weeks stayed in the ICN for 2 weeks. Hannah is perfectly healthy 9 year old today.

Sending positive thoughts to your friend.

 

[debbi801]

It happend to me with my now 16 yr old DS. Although, I was further along (34 weeks). I was put in the hospital on bed rest, given IV meds to try and stop labor, IV antibiotics to prevent infection, and meds to hasten maturation of DS's lungs.

The meds to stop labor didn't work very well for me, DS was born about 72 hours after my water broke.

I will keep your friend in my thoughts.

 

[redshoes]

I thought I would update this thread quickly. My dear friend gave birth to a little boy last night. He was a brave little fighter but passed away shortly after he was born. My friend is in a lot of pain both physically and emotionally.

Would it be alright to send her some flowers or is there something else that you can think of that would be better?

To everyone who replied thank you for all of your prayers and helpful advice.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I thought I would update this thread quickly. My dear friend gave birth to a little boy last night. He was a brave little fighter but passed away shortly after he was born. My friend is in a lot of pain both physically and emotionally.

Would it be alright to send her some flowers or is there something else that you can think of that would be better?

To everyone who replied thank you for all of your prayers and helpful advice.

Totally crying reading this...I'm very sorry for your friend... it's got to be soooooooo hard I can't even comprehend. Flowers and a card would be good..in the card let her know you are there for her.....

 

[MoniqueU]

As someone who has lost a child my heart goes out to her and her DH so much. As a friend when she is ready to talk about it it does help some and you being there to listen will be very helpful. Also try and remember the anniversary of his death and acknowledge it. Again I am so sorry.

 

[krcit]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to see this sad update. Your friend and her family are in my prayers.

 

[SleepyMom]

I thought I would update this thread quickly. My dear friend gave birth to a little boy last night. He was a brave little fighter but passed away shortly after he was born. My friend is in a lot of pain both physically and emotionally.

Would it be alright to send her some flowers or is there something else that you can think of that would be better?

To everyone who replied thank you for all of your prayers and helpful advice.

I am very sorry for your friend and her family, I know this will be a tough time for her. Having you be there as a friend, even if it's just to listen will help her so much. Saying his name and remembering him in the years to come will mean the world to her. Flowers would be nice, but honestly it might be more meaningful if you could find something more permanent for her to remember him by. The flowers will fade away and dry up and then she has to throw those away, and it might sound weird, but that can be hard to do.

We have been exactly where your friend is, we recieved plants and flowers and I found it very hard to throw them away after a few weeks. The plants stressed me out because I felt I had to keep them alive to honor him. A friend got me a Precious Moments figurine of a baby boy and I still have it displayed to honor him. Another friend got me a small plaque with a poem on the front, on the back she had his name and birthdate engraved, that means the world to me to this day. Those are the things I treasure years later and help me feel close to him.

for your friend.