By Tina Jackson At 25, Tina Jackson was filled with optimism for the future. Newly married and excited to expand her family, she and her husband had just purchased their first home when they received the joyous news—they were expecting their first child. Tina’s pregnancy began smoothly, but complications arose in the final weeks. A…
By Melissa Freifelder As a NICU nurse for 2 years, I have experienced both triumph and heartbreak in equal measures. There are so many decisions parents and caregivers are asked to make on a daily, if not hourly, basis and the whole process can be overwhelming. I am honored to walk alongside parents and care…
By Shawnita Evans When my mother had just reached 21 weeks of pregnancy, she felt something unusual: her water had broken—and everything changed. Fear gripped my family as they rushed to the hospital, where doctors delivered a harsh reality: I might not survive, and if I did, I would likely face severe impairments. At the…
By Haley Lesatz When you first see that positive test, your mind takes off. Planning the perfect nursery, the cute pregnant person you will be in your outfits with the perfect round belly, and how flawless your birth will go… But what you don’t plan for is when things don’t go perfect; when that amazing…
When my husband and I started trying to get pregnant, I was terrified of two things: preterm birth and having a sick baby. This fear was due to my older sister experiencing two preterm births, with one ending in loss and the other an eight-week NICU stay. After a difficult nine-month IVF journey to remove a hereditary gene I carry, we got pregnant after the second transfer.
By Emily Eilers Evelyn’s birth story has been filled with so many surprises, it’s hard to know where to start – beginning with the surprise of being pregnant. While Ted and I knew we wanted children, we had planned to wait until after I finished graduate school to become a nurse anesthetist. Then, during my…
By Colleen Pollick Even though I was 36 weeks along, we knew she was going to be small. Our doctors estimated she would be around 4 lbs., but when her heart rate kept dropping to dangerously low levels after an attempted induction, Haley was born via emergency c-section weighing only 3 lbs. 4 oz. and…
By Tricia Neerman March 6, 2009 was anything but normal for our family. After waking up in the middle of the night knowing something was wrong, my husband and I rushed to the hospital – 26 weeks pregnant and terrified. After some tests and medication to bring down my blood pressure, I was diagnosed with…
By Carrie Perry 18 weeks into my pregnancy, BJ and I learned that Elliot had bilateral club feet, meaning both feet were out of position. At the time, my heart ached that he would start his life with that struggle. When I developed pre-eclampsia at 25 weeks and Elliot was born weighing only 1 pound, 9…
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