Hospital wants to send me home after PPROM. I don’t want to go. Help.

[CatsEye99]

Posting for traffic. My waters broke at home and were bright red, and I was 26 weeks with DCDA twins. I called an ambulance and was rushed to hospital where I had a huge gush of red fluid. I was counselled about preterm birth and given steroid injections. I saw a neonatal doctor who stated the most important thing was to deliver at a hospital with NICU cots.

Despite severe agonising pain, a week has passed and I haven’t given birth. Twins aren’t distressed and my observations are fine.

However I feel incredibly unwell. I keep burning hot and turning red but my temp is not raised. I feel like I have the flu or another illness. I have no energy and can barely move due to pain. Codeine won’t touch it. A midwife told me to have a hot bath which I am sure is contraindicated.

The staff want to send me home. I have stated I do not want to go home due to me living an hour from the hospital and the risk of infection, cord compression, preterm delivery and stillbirth. I do not want to lose my babies. I want to remain in the unit with NICU like the doctor advised.

Can anyone give me any advice? I can’t find any info on this anywhere and feel like the staff are fobbing me off.

Hope you have a better day today OP

Thinking of you OP. Hopefully those babies stay in a bit longer! Just wanted to let you know that through our journey in NICU we met so many babies born as early as 25 weeks (mine were 28 weeks) and they are all perfect little toddlers running around now, you’d never know they were early. Best wishes to you.

Glad you feel better supported and cared for by the staff you’ve got caring for you now! Fingers crossed everything goes fine with the babies.

I hope they get to the bottom of it all soon

Hope you have a better day today , glad they finally listening to you

So glad you've found someone to listen

Hope you are feeling better today cats and are able to focus on the next steps with your doctors.

Fingers crossed the twins stay in longer, but if they decide to put in an appearance any time soon, you will hear many many stories of children born this early and as small as yours who are all doing really well now. Please take a look at the prematurity boards and you will get a tonne of support.

Sorry to hear you're going through the mill.
I'm glad to hear the pressure and panic of going home has now reduced. That's the last thing you need on top of worrying about your babies and what's to come. Hopefully you'll keep those babies in there for a few more weeks. 🤞🏻

@cat thank goodness you stood your ground

I’m sorry to read you’ve had more bleeding and gushes of fluid. I hope they are all suitably chastised.

Thinking of you and your babies, hope that they can make you feel more reassured and that a proper plan is in place instead of any more uncertainty.💐

Seen my consultant now. She's said that I had the choice to go home if I would prefer but that it is a choice. I've explained to her why I don't want to and she's happy for me to stay.

Plan is to keep monitoring myself and the twins. She's also told me there's no issue with me having a cesarean and that she will put it on my notes as a few other people had tried to convince me not to and I was very unsure which was safest. So the plan is to keep waiting, with the aim to deliver the babies if I get an infection or if the babies get distressed.

I feel a lot better now I actually have some sort of idea what is happening instead of different people telling me different things. Thank you everyone for the messages.

We've also decided that we will probably complain about the particular staff member who tried to insist I was going home and made the comment about whether I really needed a doctor as it deeply upset me and made me feel like no one was listening to me or taking it seriously.

That is good news catseye I'm so glad you feel happier about everything and that your consultant is writing what she has agreed with you into your notes.

How is your pain today and did your consultant discuss how long it might be expected the babies would stay in for?

Sending best wishes

Yes, you should consider complaining.

Definitely complain, not necessarily that they wanted to discharge you as that’ll have been their clinical decision (though you can mention it if you like, I just don’t think it’ll be upheld) but absolutely about the staff member who tried to get you to triage yourself and a random patient you’ve never even met with no medical training between whether the doctors saw you or did a cesesrean, that’s shocking.

The pain is better but not absent. After I lost more fluid it wasn't as bad. It seems to get to a point and then ease off.

I was told probably until their due date but that some babies may need shorter stays.

I totally understand. I had pprom and was scared stiff of leaving. I wanted to be somewhere I could be monitored for foetal heartbeat several times a day instead of trying to do it myself with a stehoscope and my anxiety going through the roof. I didn't care that it was boring, or I had no food, or that the person next to me was a loudmouth. My baby, thereforee me too needed to be aroundsomeone who could help quickly I just wanted my baby alive and thankfully she is here today but I completely understand xx

Try and rest now OP

Glad you have seen the consultant. I had twins, and there is a lot of extra worry.

I had all this lack of communication in SCBU (they were 1 month early and had no problems). I had one story from the named nurse (who went on holiday after the first day), another from the consultant (who went on holiday after the first day) and if I asked anything about what was said I got a WTF answer from people who seemed to be on a different wavelength and to have read different notes.

It was all very stressful.

I never got an answer to what happened to the tests they did, thinking they may have had twin to twin transfusion going on.......... In my case, it was not a problem of being discharged too early, but rather they did not seem to be able to let them out.

Anyway, take your rest now whilst you can. I hope the pain subsides further and you are more comfortable. Eat well, sleep well and we will hope for the best for you. ((((()))))

• Never occurred to me before: Is there a connection?

I am glad you have been seen by the consultant now, and that she was supportive of your wish to stay rather than dismissive.

Yes, do complain about the staff member who put you under pressure to leave and spoke to you so rudely and disparagingly. What she tried to do was potentially dangerous and irresponsible.

If anyone tries that again then tell them firmly "No, the consultant says I have reason to stay if I feel I need to, and I DO feel the need to",

Update. Despite the consultant requesting it I still have not had an ultrasound...

Sounds like you’re in the right place.

Found out I won't get scanned until tomorrow now!

Hospitals are very stretched OP, lots of patients to see and not enough staff/resources.

Which is a good reason not to send home 3 high risk patients.

I've now got another dark red fluid leak and am waiting for a doctor. Thank god they didn't send me home.

Thinking of you OP. Hope they actually send you a dr quickly and don't fuck around this time.