Ajudar as famílias a navegar na Jornada da UTIN, um milagre de cada vez.

Keeley and Kambry are identical (Mono/Di) twins who were diagnosed with Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome in utero at 16 weeks gestation. Jade, their Mother, underwent surgery at 18 weeks gestation at the Cincinnati Fetal Center to correct the TTTS. The surgery was successful. This prolonged the pregnancy by 4 weeks and the girls were born 125 days premature at 22 weeks and 1 day.

Sam's journey at Abington Memorial Hospital started when I had gone in for my 20 week ultrasound. I had thankfully gone in during my 19th week of pregnancy and discovered I was dealing with cervical incompetence. Despite an operation, strict bed rest and hospital stays, Sam was born October 5, 2006 at 23 weeks and 5 days

In 2010, Martha and Paul Sharkey joyfully discovered they were expecting twins. Their excitement was palpable, envisioning a future with their two new additions, due in the spring of 2011. However, their journey took a dramatic shift in November 2010, when Martha was urgently admitted to the hospital at just 23 weeks pregnant.

Our NICU journey began in late spring of 2010 when we received the life-changing news that we were expecting twins, and with that, a high-risk pregnancy. After close monitoring, Rachel was placed on bed rest at 19 weeks, and by 21 weeks, she was admitted to Abington Hospital’s maternity unit due to an incompetent cervix.

After 1,035 days of trying, one miscarriage, lots of prayers, and some help from doctors, my little boy was due to arrive February 26, 2016. However, at 25 weeks 5 days my water broke in the middle of the night/early morning. I arrived at Abington Hospital to be told that I would not leave the hospital pregnant.

Our daughter Rachel’s twin brother passed unexpectedly in utero at 23 weeks. Even though I had lost a baby the year before, it hadn’t occurred to me that this was even a possible scenario with a twin pregnancy…and I did not know what it meant for my surviving twin. My amazing doctor told me to “Go home, get in bed, and try to get one more week, one more day, one more hour for her. Everything counts.”

Sept 29,2021 , at 25 weeks pregnant I went in for a routine ultrasound to check on our little gem to see how she was doing as I was switching my care team. Nothing could prepare me for what would happen next.

Around 24 weeks I started to feel the same way I did with the other two. I went to the hospital a few times and was admitted at 25 weeks once I started to bleed. I was in the MOM Unit for a few days. On June 1st things took a turn for the worst and we were sent to the OR for an emergency C-Section. She was born at 27 weeks 0 days weighting 2lbs 4 oz. She did not come out making a peep. Those were the scariest 10 minutes of my life. She is a fighter though, and surprisingly had the most uneventful NICU stay out of all three of our stays. She thrived and we took her home August 12th.

Our pregnancy started out smooth, nothing to worry about. We were pregnant with a healthy baby girl!

At 26 weeks, I felt weird so I took my blood pressure and it read high so I decided to call my OB. She said to go to Triage at Abington Hospital. Never having issues like this in my previous pregnancy, I thought nothing of it. Kyle (my husband) took me to the hospital and they admitted me for high blood pressure. I was quickly informed I would be in the hospital until I delivered. Sloane wasn’t due until January!

Nothing can begin to describe the pure elation my husband and I experienced when the ultrasound technician told us that we would be expecting twins. On the flip side, nothing can come close to describing the heartache that accompanied their premature birth, 12 weeks too soon.

After trying for a baby for a year we finally found out we were expecting in February of 2017! Briar was due October 3rd but in late June, I started to feel what I thought felt like contractions. I started to have severe cramps around 26 weeks.

They checked everything and said it was most likely caused to dehydration and to stay extra hydrated during the hot summer days. A week later, I woke up to a gush of blood and we rushed to the hospital. I was monitored for 4 days until Briar’s heart rate dropped and I was rushed to the OR for an emergency c-section.

When I was 29 weeks and 5 days, I went to a normal doctor’s appointment and my blood pressure was extremely high. I was immediately sent to L&D triage where I was admitted to the MOM unit. While on the MOM unit I was put on magnesium and our little boy was monitored closely. It was decided after a day that he needed to be born the next day because his heart rate wasn’t fluctuating enough and he had no amniotic fluid.

Sweet Baby James was born at 29 weeks and 2 days after Mom suffered complications from placenta previa. He surprised everyone by topping the charts at 3lbs, 8.6 oz and 17 inches long. Fortunately his stay in the Special Care Nursery at Abington Hospital was uneventful and he was able to come home to a very excited big brother (and Mom and Dad) after 7 weeks.

After 8 years of trying to have a baby and 2 miscarriages, I finally had a successful and relatively easy pregnancy until 28 weeks. At that point, my water broke in the morning on my way to work. I was immediately sent to (and then hospitalized) at Abington Hospital with the hope I could keep the baby (we didn’t know what we were having) in until 34 weeks. However, after 11 days of hospital bed rest in the MOM unit, the baby started showing signs of distress, so the doctors decided it needed to be born via caesarean delivery right away.

Following the premature birth of my twins at 28 weeks, we found out I was pregnant with a little girl.
When I went a routine ultrasound, the MFM delivered some concerning findings. I had a complete placenta previa. Kensley’s placenta had attached to the bottom of my uterus, completely covering my cervix/birth canal. This not only meant that c-section was my only option for delivery, but it increased my risk of hemorrhaging.

Right after his sister Briar (28 weeker) turned 1 we found out we were expecting again! My doctors believed an infection caused my placenta to abrupt with his sister so they were not overly concerned it would happen again. We were still closely monitored during the pregnancy.

Everything was going smoothly until around 30 weeks. I started to have the same type of cramps and I went to the hospital. I ended up in the hospital with this issue three times. The third time I was admitted at 32 weeks. Baylor came later that night after I started to gush blood due to my placenta abrupting.

Our journey to pregnancy led to the best surprise: twins! At our first ultrasound on 4/1/15, we were thrilled. A scare weeks later, initially thought to be a miscarriage, turned out to be a subchorionic hematoma. After a few days of bed rest, we excitedly shared our news.

At 24 weeks, complications arose—preterm labor scares and high blood pressure led to six weeks of bed rest. At 30 weeks, Twin A’s water broke, and I was hospitalized. We held on for two more weeks until they arrived on 10/20/15.

After having our daughter at 26 weeks in 2014, we waited two years before trying to get pregnant again. We knew the chance of having another preemie was high, but we wanted to give our daughter a sibling. Each pregnancy milestone brought both relief and anxiety as we neared the 26-week mark. With the help of weekly progesterone injections, 33 weeks and 4 days passed before my water spontaneously broke during the night. We rushed to the hospital knowing that our son could be born any time and he would likely need NICU support.

Finding out we were pregnant with Maeve was one of the most exciting days ever. We anxiously awaited her arrival.

I started showing signs of preeclampsia at 32 weeks so I was admitted to Abington Hospital. Only 3 days later, she was born at 33 weeks. I had developed HELLP Syndrome and she needed to be delivered via an emergency c-section.

Today is a Good Day wasn't a part of our NICU story, but we sure wish it had been. While our pregnancy didn't start as easily or quickly as we hoped, it certainly wasn't the struggle many face. That said, when we were met with an incredibly uneventful pregnancy we were thrilled. So, when a very early morning, at 34.5 weeks, the day before Halloween, suggested a trip to the hospital we didn't know to think any concern. We learned my water had broken so we needed to get comfortable (and figure out what to do with all the Halloween candy that was unused at home).

My daughter Colette was born January 20, 2016 at 39 weeks, full-term. Ultrasounds went well and as far as we knew, she was healthy, so we had never even considered a NICU stay.

To our shock, Colette started having trouble breathing shortly after she was born due to meconium aspiration. The doctor was calm as he told us they were going to wheel her right down the hall to the nursery to check her out. She never came back to us in our room in the maternity ward – instead, she was in the NICU fighting for her life.

Patrick was born full term at 39 weeks after a healthy pregnancy. During his birth, the cord wrapped around his head and neck, and sent him into distress due to lack of oxygen. He inhaled meconium and was delivered unresponsive. He was quickly resuscitated and placed on a ventilator. Due to the lack of oxygen during birth, he was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).

Miles was a full-term NICU baby. We will forever be grateful for the nurses, doctors, and volunteer cuddlers at Einstein that cared for Miles while he was in the hospital. At 5 1/2 weeks Miles was ready to leave the hospital and our family was excited to meet him and take him home.