A MUM has revealed how she waited two and a half months for her baby to arrive, AFTER her waters had already broken.
Lauren Middleton, 24, felt a gush of water at just 26 weeks pregnant and after being rushed to hospital, found out her waters had broken early.
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Amniotic fluid is the water that surrounds a baby in the womb, held together by a membrane (or layers of tissue).
When the membrane breaks, it’s a sign to most mums that they’re about to go into labour, but sometimes (for reasons unknown) waters can break too early – otherwise known as preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).
When Lauren, from Leeds, was rushed to hospital, doctors were keen to postpone labour for as long as possible, in order to give her unborn baby more time to grow.
“I was so shocked, I really didn’t think my waters had broken,” Lauren explained.
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“I was really scared when I heard because it was so early in the pregnancy and my baby was so tiny.
“I knew straight away he was in danger of serious harm.”
Lauren – who is already mum to three-year-old Ruby – stayed in hospital for three days before she was sent home.
For the next two months she was required to attend the maternity unit at Leeds General Infirmary twice a week – to make sure the baby was doing well.
“It was an incredibly stressful situation because I was worried about the baby’s health the whole time,” she explained.
“I was in and out of hospital constantly, having that many checks isn’t normal but I knew were vital for the baby.”
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At 34 weeks – and with the unborn baby doing well – doctors decided to allow Lauren to continue the pregnancy to 37 weeks.
Sometimes, doctors will suggest the mum be induced if they think it is safer for the baby to be born a few weeks early.
But at 35 weeks, Lauren started having contractions and on October 18 at 9pm, baby Archie was born weighing 6lb 4oz.
The labour lasted 21 hours and Lauren explained it was “really traumatic and very painful”.
Following the birth, Archie was rushed to neo-natal intensive care with breathing difficulties.
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Lauren and partner Liam, 27, were told that Archie had pneumonia and sepsis, but after antibiotics, Archie was allowed to go home for the first time.
“The NHS have been unbelievable, I can’t thank them enough,” said Lauren.
“If it wasn’t for their amazing work who knows what would have happened to Archie.
“I genuinely love all the nurses, they’re more like family now.”
In other news, we told you how Asda is selling a colour-changing bubble bath and parents are loving it.
We also revealed mums are raving about these personalised Christmas Eve boxes from The Works, and they’re only £10 for three.
And we showed you how one mum shared an easy tip to keep babies upright in shopping trolleys using a neck pillow.
