‘Waters broke after 21 weeks – but my baby lived’
WHEN Chanelle Williams’ waters broke just 21 weeks into her pregnancy, she feared the worst for her unborn daughter.
Doctors warned that even if the unborn child managed to reach 24 weeks in the womb – the abortion cutoff – she would only have a 1% chance of survival.
But against the odds the baby managed to stay inside her mum, with tiny amounts of fluid to protect her, until 33 weeks, when she was safely brought into the world.
Brave Chanelle, 24, from Porthcawl, is now sharing her story to offer hope to other expectant mums with the same condition.
“I was advised to terminate, but I decided not to and now I have a wonderful, healthy daughter,” said the mum of three.
“I want to raise awareness as much as possible so other mums in Wales, and the rest of the UK, know that it doesn’t mean the pregnancy needs to end.”
Chanelle said she began to experience leaking fluid at around 17 or 18 weeks but was advised by her consultant that it was likely to be pregnancy incontinence due to the fact she already had two children.
But at 21 weeks, following a latenight shower, her waters broke and she was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend by partner Sam Painter.
“I just felt completely numb. I’d had five miscarriages before and I couldn’t face another one,” she said.
Doctors told Chanelle that she was likely to go into full labour within 72 hours of her waters breaking and sent her home to
“wait it out”.
But the following morning she was given a call by a consultant at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, who was keen to assess her condition.
“The consultant said that he wanted to come to see me in Bridgend and carry out a scan,” she added.
It was discovered that Chanelle had a pregnancy complication known as pre-term premature rupture of the membranes, or PPROM for short, which leads to the amniotic sac surrounding the baby breaking too early.
She said she was given an 8% chance of the pregnancy progressing to 24 weeks – and only a 1% chance of the baby surviving. “I couldn’t put into my mind the thought of termination,” she added. “She had a heartbeat and she was still fighting, so I felt I needed to too.” Chanelle, who at this point was at significant risk of picking up infections, travelled to the Princess of Wales Hospital three times a week for blood tests and scans.
Then at 28 weeks she was told that her infection markers had become elevated and was advised that the best way forward would be to deliver the child. But again she decided to wait. “I was feeling OK and I was convinced I just had a slight chest infection,” she said.
“And I’m so glad I didn’t opt to have the baby as the following day it was discovered that the fluid levels surrounding the baby were increasing. “They think the baby may have been acting as a ‘plug’ and keeping the fluid in.” Amazingly, it wasn’t until 33 weeks that Chanelle eventually gave birth to Rosalie Williams on December 9, 2018, weighing 4lb.
Recalling the dramatic day, she said: “I went from being 0cm dilated to pushing out the baby in 12 minutes. The midwives couldn’t believe it. I was in so much shock that I had no idea whether my daughter would be breathing or even alive.”
Rosalie was taken to the special care baby unit, where she had jaundice for two days and needed assistance with feeding because she was so small.
“Other than that it was all plain sailing for her,” Chanelle added.
Ten months on and Rosalie is doing remarkably well.
Chanelle, who has two other daughters – Lacey, six, and Marnie, one – said she was supported during her pregnancy by the charity Little Heartbeats, which promotes awareness of PPROM.
She claims understanding of the condition among the public – and the medical profession – needs to improve so expectant parents can make an informed decision.
■ For more details go to www.little-heartbeats.org.uk/