Through the years, Valparaiso resident Lisa Bailey has learned to prepare for the unexpected. As a nurse in the Emergency Department at St. Mary Medical Center, she has seen just about every type of medical emergency. When she was pregnant with her son and three years later, her daughter, both of their deliveries were early and quite a surprise.
“I had my son at 32 weeks,” Bailey says. “He made his appearance eight weeks early. He was in the Level II at St. Mary Medical Center for a month and during that time I got to know all the nurses. His neonatologist, Dr. Sudhish Chandra, was absolutely phenomenal.”
With a certified obstetric nursing staff and 24-hour neonatology coverage, the Family Birthing Center’s Level II Nursery is able to handle emergencies that may arise during childbirth and care for babies born up to two months premature.
“He was only 3 lbs., 5 oz. when he was born,” Bailey says. “We had to get to 5 pounds in order to go home. He had tube feedings for the first 3 ½ weeks. The way he’s growing now you would never know he was a preemie.”
Bailey’s daughter was delivered in kind of the same way.
“I was actually on weekly steroid shots to help prevent me from going into early labor again,” she says. “I guess she wanted to take after her brother and she came five weeks early at 35 weeks. She came out healthy and was a good size, 5 lbs. 8 oz. The first 12 hours went really well, but then she had feeding issues and her body temperature was too low. That is why she needed to go into the Level II nursery.
“I have friendships with the nurses to this day because of being in the nursery for a month after my son was born,” she says. “When I ended up back in the Level II nursery after I had my daughter, it was like being back with old friends again.”
For more information about the programs and services available through the Family Birthing Centers of Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org/baby.
