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Brittaney Baker remembers the moment her daughters met for the first time through the window at the MercyOne Children’s Hospital William and Josephine Norkaitis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Separated by glass. Blakely, 5, a graduate of the same NICU, got to see her newborn baby sister Bristol through a planned “window meet and greet.” Bristol, born prematurely, would spend 37 days in the NICU.
For both girls, this first “home away from home” kept them alive and healthy after their mother, Brittaney, experienced health complications. More than five years later, Brittaney says the NICU’s expert team will always have a place of honor in Blakely and Bristol’s birth stories.
A NICU when you need it
“It never really crossed our minds that I’d have pregnancy complications, much less that we’d have not one but two babies in the NICU,” recalled Brittaney of Albia, Iowa. “In fact, I never thought I’d be able to get pregnant without the help of IVF because I have Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid, along with hypothyroidism.”
Yet to Brittaney and her husband Jeff’s surprise, she unexpectedly became pregnant in 2019 and enjoyed a healthy, smooth pregnancy.
That is, until less than a month before she was due.
Brittaney developed preeclampsia, a serious gestational hypertension condition where a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure, swelling of hands and feet and excess protein in her urine. Occurring in 5-8% of U.S. pregnancies, it can lead to fatal complications for mom and baby if left untreated.
Blakely was born in March 2020 via emergency C-section at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. Although not considered premature, little Blakely spent five days in the NICU to regulate her glucose level and receive feedings through a nasogastric (NG) tube.
“It was our first experience with the NICU, and honestly, it was a great one,” Brittaney said.
The MercyOne Children’s Hospital William and Josephine Norkaitis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit offers advanced care and expertise, caring for more babies than any other hospital in Iowa. Brittaney could stay close to her baby in the same hospital, just a couple of floors apart.
More great experiences to come
Brittaney’s second birth was even more unexpected -- and harrowing. “I went in for a routine non-stress test that became stressful real quick,” she said.
Experiencing pre-eclampsia during her first pregnancy, Brittaney had developed HELLP syndrome, a rare and more serious form of preeclampsia. “My doctor in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Dr. Taylar Swartz Summers, said: ‘I’m sending you to MercyOne.”
Brittaney would be transported that evening by ambulance to MercyOne in Des Moines, and by the time she arrived, her liver enzymes had skyrocketed. "The doctor said to me, ‘I honestly don’t know how you’re not having seizures on me. That’s how high your liver enzymes are.”
Bristol would need to be delivered immediately by emergency C-section to help improve Brittaney’s life-threatening condition. OB/GYN Lindsey Jenkins, MD delivered Bristol seven weeks early on Sept. 5, 2024.
A preemie, Bristol went to the NICU, where she would spend the next 37 days.
“The NICU team was great, keeping us up to date on her tests, baths, treatments and everything going on with her and kept doing so even after I was discharged from the hospital. One of Bristol’s nurses, Annie, was a saint and had such a comforting presence. I could tell she loved Bristol.
"It was 37 days with a daughter in the NICU that we didn’t expect, but the amazing team at MercyOne made it as easy for us as it could be.”
Brittaney would drive about three hours total each day, to and from the NICU to see Bristol. The family was offered lodging at Ronald McDonald House in MercyOne Children’s Hospital, but Brittaney felt other families with sick children were more in need. Meanwhile, Jeff handled the family’s farming operation, cared for 4-year-old Blakely and visited the NICU on weekends.
A window to the future
The best part about their NICU experience? When the NICU team helped make possible the “window meet and greet” for Blakely to meet her baby sister Bristol.
“Blakely still talks about it today and says, ‘I got to meet my sister through a window.’ That was just priceless for us, and Blakely is the BEST big sister to her now 10-month-old little sister. Bristol is thriving; she’s hitting every milestone and continues to crush the goals set for her. You’d never guess she was a preemie born at 33 weeks.”
She concludes, “We’re so grateful for this amazing NICU team. If it hadn’t been for them, who knows? Things could be a lot different for us today.”
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