FORT LAUDERDALE – Soon-to-be mother Kelly Herrera has been a patient at HCA Florida University Hospital in Davie ever since she almost delivered her child prematurely at a little over 21 weeks into her pregnancy.
“It started when I was 21 weeks and 3 days,” she said. “I woke up about 5:30-6 in the morning. I felt wetness and I went to the bathroom and my water broke.”
She would spend the next 10 weeks in care to prevent the premature delivery of her fourth daughter Ryli.
Now at nearly 31 weeks, the hospital and family marked the moment this weekend with a celebration honoring Kelly’s resilience and celebrating her journey.
Celebrating Ryli, who isn’t even born yet, Herrera wasn’t sure she’d be able to carry her pregnancy to term.
“Right now, I’m happy I made it this far ’cause lots of people don’t have the same outcome,” she said.
With the care provided by the doctors and staff, “Kelly has reached crucial milestones in her pregnancy. Her baby is now expected to have a great prognosis at birth,” said Dr. Neil Salas, Herrera’s obstetrician and gynecologist (OB/GYN).
For Herrera, it’s been an emotional journey.
“There would be days when I’d be super positive, super okay with everything going on — no care in the world,” she said. “Other days, I’m like ‘I can’t do this.’ I wanted to break down. I don’t know [how but] I held it together as best as I could.”
Ryli will have lots of company when she makes her debut: three sisters. Herrera said she’s looking forward to the day she welcomes her little girl and heads home.
“I’ll be ecstatic ’cause I’ll be home for Christmas — hopefully, the baby too,” she said. “I’ll be with my other girls [and] family.”
Health complications of being born premature
A premature baby doesn’t have enough time to fully develop key organs and body systems they need to support them outside the uterus, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This can cause serious health problems including underdeveloped lungs, inflammation of the intestines, blood infections, underdeveloped blood vessels in the eyes, and more.
Premies are also at higher risk of developmental challenges during childhood including hearing and vision problems, learning disabilities and cerebral palsy.
For Kelly and her baby, the hospital was able to buy them the extra time needed to pass those crucial benchmarks.
Risk factors for premature birth
According to the Cleveland Clinic, you may be at risk of premature birth if you:
- Are Black or Hispanic
- Are expecting multiples (i.e. twins, triplets, etc.)
- Are under the age of 17 or over the age of 35
- Have a family or personal history of preterm births
- Smoke, drink alcohol or use other substances while pregnant
- Are underweight before pregnancy or don’t gain enough weight during pregnancy
