When Leacoln Bale got a thumbs-up on her 20-week prenatal scan, she and her husband, Jeremy, felt relief. The scans looked great, and they were thrilled about having another healthy baby girl. Like her two older sisters — Ellie, 6, and 3-year-old Nora — Ava was born at home with assistance from a midwife. But…
When Alex and Kaylee Sutton’s son was born at 25 weeks, his new parents were scared their 1-pound, 9-ounce baby, born on the cusp of viability, wouldn’t make it. They’d arrived at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital at midnight, expecting to find out that Kaylee’s contractions were false labor pains. Instead, they learned Kaylee was…
Meredith Zuhars and her husband, Dave, were totally surprised by her pregnancy with their son, Zachary. They were raising a teen and preteen at the time, and both working, Meredith as a nurse. They were not even entertaining the idea of another child. Their “surprise baby” had another surprise: Zachary was born Aug. 5, nearly…
Breast milk can be like a medicine for babies. While breast milk is preferred for most babies, it may not naturally contain all of the macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates and protein) needed by premature babies, those born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Human milk analysis and targeted fortification, a type of “lactoengineering,” is a technology that…
When Hannah R. Fischer, M.D., neonatologist with Norton Children’s Neonatology, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, was doing her pediatric residency, it was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where she found her calling. Despite the long and difficult days, she couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and see her tiny…
A pregnant patient’s race, social status, access to medical care and living conditions all can affect whether they are more likely to deliver a baby weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces (low birth weight), according to Scott D. Duncan, M.D., MHA, neonatologist with Norton Children’s Neonatology, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. According…
Even when she’s delivering the most advanced care to the sickest babies, Tamina R.B. Singh, M.D., medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Norton Children’s Hospital, never loses sight of the family. She sees how powerless new parents can feel with a child in need of intensive care. “A big part of…
Lindsay Rogers and her husband, David, tried for 16 months to get pregnant, including three cycles of fertility medications. As she considered whether seeing a fertility specialist might be the next step, she became pregnant with their son, Liam, in March 2018. Lindsay describes the pregnancy up to 20 weeks as completely normal. After hitting…
When Dana’s daughter, LeAnn, was born at 25 weeks, she weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces. Born more than three months early, LeAnn was so fragile she couldn’t be held or even taken out of the incubator for a week, and her skin looked almost see-through, her mother recalled. LeAnn would spend months overcoming one health…
Natalie Jacobs, MSN, R.N., NPD-BC had worked a full shift as a nurse manager at Norton Children’s Hospital on Jan. 28, 2019. When she got home, she realized she was spotting. Pregnant at 25 weeks, Natalie thought she might be losing the baby. She drove herself to Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital, where she knew…
Walter Clare has a warm, welcoming smile and a giving heart. For Walter, that spirit of generosity led him to making a legacy gift, or planned gift, to benefit Norton Children’s Hospital. With a desire to make an impact, honor his late wife and help critically ill children while also lessening stress for their families,…
Your baby has been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital. There is a dedicated team working together to care for your child, and there’s no lack of services to help you get through the process of having a baby in the NICU, including pastoral care. But how do you cope…