Mum gives birth to healthy baby boy 10 weeks after her waters broke

Most mums-to-be would assume that after their waters break giving birth is imminent, but one woman has revealed her baby boy arrived a whopping ten weeks after her waters first broke.

Lauren Middleton was left shocked after feeling a gush of water when she was just 26 weeks pregnant.

The 24-year-old, who is also mum to Ruby, three, was rushed to hospital and couldn't believe it when doctors told her that her waters had broken.

Ordinarily during pregnancy a woman's waters breaking typically signals the start of labour, but medics made the unusual decision to postpone Laura’s baby’s birth for as long as possible in order to give the infant time to grow.

“I was really scared when I heard because it was so early in the pregnancy and my baby was so tiny,” Laura says.

“I knew straight away he was in danger of serious harm.”

After spending three days in hospital, Lauren, from Leeds, West Yorks, was sent home.

From then on she had to attend the maternity unit at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) twice a week for checks.

READ MORE: Woman gives birth by candlelight in hospital laundry room after power cut

“It was an incredibly stressful situation because I was worried about the baby's health the whole time,” Lauren explains.

“I was in and out of hospital constantly, having that many checks isn't normal but I knew they were vital for the baby.”

When the mum-to-be reached 34 weeks, tests revealed Lauren was healthy and doctors decided to leave her until 37 weeks, which is considered full term.

But only a week later, at week 35, Lauren started having contractions at home and was rushed to hospital.

“The labour itself was really traumatic and very painful,” Lauren said.

Eventually after 21 hours, at 9pm on October 18, baby Archie was born weighing 6lb 4oz with Lauren’s elated partner Liam Hopper, 27, looking on.

But the couple’s joy turned to heartbreak an hour later when Archie was rushed to neo-natal intensive care after struggling to breathe.

READ MORE: Woman gives birth hours after learning she was pregnant

“One minute we were having cuddles and everything was fine and the next minute he was gone,” Lauren said.

The newborn was diagnosed with pneumonia then sepsis, leaving his devastated parents unsure if he was going to survive.

Thankfully after the swift actions of hospital staff and a course of antibiotics Archie made a recovery and he has now gone home for the first time.

“The NHS have been unbelievable, I can't thank them enough,” Lauren said.

“If it wasn't for their amazing work who knows what would have happened to Archie.”

According to the NHS If your waters have broken early (called preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes, P-PROM), there could be an increased risk of infection for you and your baby.

It’s likely you’ll be offered antibiotics to take for a maximum of 10 days, or until labour starts – whichever is sooner.

You will also be offered tests for infection, which may include blood and urine tests.

The site explains that your waters breaking early, P-PROM, doesn't definitely mean you're going into labour. Like Lauren, you may be able to go home if there's no infection and you don't go into labour within 48 hours.

If you do go home you’ll be advised to contact your doctor or midwife if your temperature is raised, any fluid coming from your vagina (called vaginal loss) is coloured or smelly, you bleed from your vagina or your baby's movements slow down or stop.

There have been some other stories of amazing births recently.

Earlier this month a mum dubbed her child a “mini Sumo wrestler” after she was born weighing an eye-watering 12.9lbs (5.88kg), almost double the size of the average newborn.

Remi Frances Millar shocked her family when she tipped the scales at almost 13lbs, and her birth weight was even more surprising considering she wasn’t even born at full term.

Earlier this year two sisters told of their surprise about giving birth to babies on the same day, in the same hospital and with the same midwife.

Meanwhile, back in May a woman who didn't know she was pregnant got the shock of her life when she delivered her baby alone on her bathroom floor.