My daughter, Victoria, is a single parent of 2 half grown children. In December she found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend told her if she didn’t have an abortion he was leaving her. Needless to say, he is now completely out of the picture.
When she was 17 weeks pregnant she had a partial placental abruption. Two days latter she had preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). At the hospital she was told she must have an immediate D & E. She refused. I live 150 miles away and when I got to the hospital they were still trying to convince her. Virtually all women who PPROM are told there is NO option other than termination. My daughter tried to explain to the doctors that if the child was to die it would be naturally and not by their hand. Surprisingly they didn’t seem to grasp the moral destinction. They told her that she would almost certainly go into labor within 48 hours anyway. In the mean time my daughter was researching (Thank God for smart phones!) and found that there ARE babies born who have survived PPROM, although it is very rare…only 1 - 6%.
When she made it clear she would not terminate they told her every possible horror story. They told her that the baby also had a neural tube defect (spinabifida) and the unbiblical cord was malformed. Those two things later proved to be untrue. It is true, however, that PPROM babies often have varying degrees of birth defects. My daughter said she always thought a less than perfect child would bother her, but she realized she doesn’t care at all.
For my daughter there is a serious threat of sepsis. After being released from the hospital she had to return daily for blood work to check her white blood cell count and a sonogram to check the baby. Everyday more badgering from the doctors to abort. Last week the phlebotomist was in the room while the doctor was berating my daughter. When the doctor left the room the phlebotomist was livid. My daughter said it was OK, but the phlebotomist insisted the doctor need to be reported.
Not sure what happened, but the next day the hospital called and said they no longer had the resources to waste on my daughter. She is now going to a clinic (they didn’t want to take her either), but only gets 2 blood tests per week, which is scary because sepsis can take over so quickly. She also takes her temperature every couple hours and is taking all kinds of other precautions.
She has seen 2 perinatal specialists. Both have agreed to take her as a patient if she can reach 23 weeks (24 weeks considered the age of viability). If she can make it to 23 weeks she will be admitted to the hospital for as many weeks or months that she can keep from going into labor or going septic or developing other problems. Steps will be taken to aid both mother and child, but no one will help baby Liam before then.
My daughter is 21 weeks today! My daughter is ever the realist, but we believe Liam will at least have a chance if she can get into a hospital setting. The clinic called her tonight and said her blood test showed an elevated white count, so i am praying that she is not developing an infection.
Please pray for the life and good health of Victoria and baby Liam, and especially that this gift of God does not suffer in the days and weeks following his birth.
God bless you
youtube.com/watch?v=NVOLQWOOBW8
