Florida doctors kept a baby in utero for SIX WEEKS after a mom’s water broke 3 months early

Maria Carbonell was 28 weeks pregnant when she felt water trickle down her leg at work in March.

She ignored it, but the same thing happened that night as she was getting ready to go to sleep.

When she woke up in the morning, she was surrounded by a pool of water, reported CBS Miami.

Her husband, Eric, rushed her to their local hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where doctors told her that her water had broken – 12 weeks before her daughter was due.

The medical team decided that, to give the baby a chance to be more fully developed, they were going to keep her in utero for six weeks before delivering her.

The next day, after waking up in a pool of water, she was rushed to the hospital. Pictured: Savannah

Maria Carbonell, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, first felt water trickle down her leg at work in March, but ignored it. The next day, after waking up in a pool of water, she was rushed to the hospital. Pictured: Carbonell with her daughter, Savannah, left, and Savannah, right

Carbonell (pictured) was told her water had broken at just 28 weeks' gestation, but doctors decided to keep the baby in utero to give her a chance to develop more fully

Carbonell (pictured) was told her water had broken at just 28 weeks’ gestation, but doctors decided to keep the baby in utero to give her a chance to develop more fully

Almost one out of every 10 infants in the US is born prematurely. 

A birth is premature if the baby arrives at least three weeks early – or prior to 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Premature babies – or ‘preemies’ – suffer a greater risk of breathing problems, feeding problems and are more susceptible to contracting infections. 

Carbonell was quickly transferred to Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital at Broward Health Medical Center.

‘Everyone was just so positive,’ she told CBS Miami. ‘You know, they’d come into the room and kind of pretend like it wasn’t what it was. Like this is normal.’

Doctors treated her with antibiotics to prevent infection, magnesium sulfate – which prevent seizures in pregnancy – and antenatal corticosteroids.

Antenatal corticosteroids are medications given to women who are experiencing preterm delivery.

Studies have shown that babies born to women who have received the drug are less likely to have trouble breathing or suffer from infant respiratory distress syndrome.

It also lengthens the amount of time before the amniotic sac breaks and delivery, so the baby can continue to grow. 

‘With the combination, a lot of women are able to keep the pregnancy until the baby is bigger,’ Dr Adolfo Gonzalez-Garcia, an OBGYN at Broward Health Medical Center, told CBS Miami.

Doctors treated her with antibiotics, magnesium sulfate and antenatal corticosteroids. Pictured: Carbonell with Savannah

Most women are given this combination for three to four weeks, but Carbonell was treated for six weeks. Pictured: Her husband, Eric, with Savannah

Doctors treated her with antibiotics, magnesium sulfate and antenatal corticosteroids. Most women are given this combination for three to four weeks, but Carbonell was treated for six weeks. Pictured: Carbonell with Savannah, left, and her husband, Eric, with Savannah, right

At 34 weeks, Savannah was born weighing just four pounds. She's since been given the all clear to go home. Pictured: Carbonell, left, with Eric

At 34 weeks, Savannah was born weighing just four pounds. She’s since been given the all clear to go home. Pictured: Carbonell, left, with Eric

Most women are given the combination of medications for between three and four weeks, but doctors kept Carbonell’s baby in utero for six weeks.

Her husband, Eric, slept on a bed in her hospital room for the 41 days she was hospitalized. 

Finally, at 34 weeks, Carbonell delivered her daughter, Savannah, weighing just four pounds.

‘I still look at her and to think to myself it’s like so surreal,’ she told the station. 

The new parents say they’re relieved that the delivery was smooth and that they finally get to go home. 

‘This was the first chapter. Second chapter was the NICU,’ Eric said. ‘Now our third chapter, and the long one, is going to be raising her at home. We have a great story to tell her.’   

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk