Jake and Max: Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Jake and Max's Story
At 40 years old and after numerous failed attempts to get pregnant, this was her final round of in vitro fertilization (IVF). “It was now or never,” said Barb. So, it was nothing short of a miracle when Barb learned she was pregnant with twins. Barb and her wife Kim were ecstatic and Barb’s pregnancy progressed smoothly. Realizing that their life would be radically different when the twins arrived, they decided to escape to Puerto Rico for a mini vacation.
Having just settled into their beachfront oasis, Barb started bleeding unexpectedly, which landed them in a hospital in Puerto Rico. Test results revealed that Barb had an infection and was prescribed an antibiotic. Kim kept their maternal-fetal medicine specialist, Dr. Claudia Taboada, informed. “We were so fortunate that Dr. Taboada was there for us and is fluent in Spanish. She was able to review and understand the doctor’s notes and advised us to return home.”
Reassuring Expertise in Time of Need
At a follow-up with Dr. Taboada, a calcification was noticed on one of the babies’ hearts. “It was a scary time and again we relied on Dr. Taboada’s expertise. She assured us that the calcification would disappear at birth and wouldn’t affect our baby’s heart.”
About a month later Barb, who had preeclampsia, needed an emergency C-section. She delivered her twin boys, who were breech, at 34 weeks. The preemies, Jake, weighing 6 lb. 5 oz., and Max, weighing 5 lb. 10 oz., spent 3 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for monitoring and were discharged home.
"Today, Kim and I have two 8-month-old, healthy, active twin boys.”