Since this third pregnancy began, I knew that my babies were going to be premature, of that I had no doubts.
And it's not to be pessimistic, you really get to know your body so much after losing babies, since you know everything that happens, good and bad, contrary to what doctors and nurses tell you.
I am going to start this story from the day Camila and Gael were born a few days after my long-awaited Baby Shower, we did it 3 months before the probable delivery date, because I knew that later it would be impossible to do and I was really excited to share with my close friends and family this special moment. The truth is that I had to spend the entire celebration sitting down, basically to feel good, I even rented a nice and comfortable chair to be very comfortable, although I couldn't participate in the games, since I couldn't stand up for long.
This celebration was approved by my Gynecologist, who only asked me to calm down and to enjoy, and the truth was. We spent a fun afternoon, laughing and dreaming about everything my babies were going to do when they were born. That Saturday everything ended well, I felt calm and I went to rest, I did not make efforts or anything out of the ordinary.
On Monday I told my husband that I wasn't feeling well (I had already had two threatened abortions at 3 months and two cerclage procedures, since the first one had been lowered due to the pressure), so we knew something could be wrong. I told him that I felt small contractions and when I went to the bathroom I noticed some blood. So we called the Doctor, who asked us to go see him immediately to see what was going on.
They put the monitor on me and they did an ultrasound where they realized that the cervix was opening and that the baby was already in a position to come out and pressing down, the baby was calm above. So they decided to leave me hospitalized with anti-contraction medication to prevent them from being born prematurely.
The most positive prognosis was that we would reach 32 weeks, that is to say that I had to wait 5 weeks hospitalized, but I already felt that this was not going to happen, something was wrong and my body simply could not bear having the babies inside anymore (after lose 2 pregnancies at 5 months, you know what to expect) and it is not negativity, you will realize when you have to push, the body tells you clearly, it is a natural process.
I told this to my family, my doctors, nurses and EVERYONE told me that I had to be more positive and not get depressed, but the truth was that I didn't feel like that or sad. I simply knew that my body was not going to take it anymore and that's how it was, I was on medication to prevent contractions, very painful tubes, injections that gave me tachycardia, oxygen and on the verge of fainting from the continuous pain of the contractions, since they were not giving me medication for pain so you don't pass it on to babies.
And one night one of the nurses broke the contraction-preventing medication protocol, so we basically backed out of that.
I remember that one of the doctors arrived at 4 in the morning, very upset when they told him that they had stopped the medication.
I did not tell anyone that I was in the hospital, only my closest family, because I did not feel emotionally strong enough to deal with people other than my babies, I had to keep everything I had for them. Because what was coming I knew was going to be very hard. And I will always thank those who asked how we were doing and who cared about us at all times when they found out, I take this opportunity to thank you if you are reading this, as well as all the doctors, nurses and staff of the Pacifica Salud Hospital located in the Panama City, the care they gave to my children was the best and with a lot of love.
As I told you, the following Monday they admitted me to the hospital and I spent Tuesday, Wednesday with strong contractions that came and went. On Thursday, July 28, everything changed quickly, I felt that my back was going to break from the pain and I remember saying:
“I am sure that today the children will be born and we will all have a 28th date”, and that was the case. Two hours later they had to perform an emergency caesarean section that would change my way of seeing life forever...
My babies were born premature at 26 weeks, weighing 910 grams Camila and 1100 grams Gael; this is about 2 pounds or 0.91 kilos.
As you can see in the photo, instead of diapers they put masks and cotton inside them, with the intention of weighing the liquid that comes out and the one that must enter, everything is measured for the benefit of the baby. For me, masks have a totally different meaning than respiratory protection.
Having premature babies in Panama varies according to each hospital where the babies are held.