"I might not have survived the delivery had I been at a smaller hospital," Becca Farrell said. "The people at Loyola saved my life."
Loyola's Richard Besinger, MD, FACOG, professor of obstetrics & gynecology and maternal/fetal medicine, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch), has a different recollection. "Becca is the real hero. It takes a lot of effort to carry triplets to 35 weeks. I'm sure she was quite uncomfortable, but she did it!"
Becca is accustomed to achieving goals. Last fall, she completed the Chicago marathon, her fifth 26-mile race and her first since delivering three healthy babies in July 2007. What follows is a story of a patient and her medical team working toward a common objective: healthy babies entering the world with a healthy mom to care for them.
Becca was 31 when she became pregnant for the first time. Already considered "high risk" due to carrying triplets, her pregnancy was complicated by preeclampsia, a condition marked by high blood pressure and elevated protein levels. If not treated properly, preeclampsia could severely threaten Becca's life and the lives of her children.
During her pregnancy, Becca met frequently with Dr. Besinger and his team. "The safety of the mother and her unborn children is our primary goal," said Dr. Besinger, who also is medical director at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology's critical care unit. "I serve as the coordinator of a group of specialists, such as neonatologists, maternal fetal medicine physicians, genetic consultants and obstetrical anesthesiologists, which we create based on the needs of each patient."
"They were very familiar with a triplet pregnancy," Becca remembered. "They explained what would happen at different stages, how my activity level would change, they were caring, sensitive and thorough." Thanks to the team's guidance and her husband's support, Becca carried the babies close to full term. Yet the delivery was not without complications. In addition to preeclampsia, Becca suffered from HELLP syndrome, a serious liver condition that led to severe and life-threatening bleeding immediately following her deliveries. "I really don't know if I would have survived elsewhere," Becca said.
Nationally Acclaimed NICU
Experts recognize the neonatologists who work in Loyola's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as among the best in the nation. Those in the 50-bed NICU care for critically ill or high-risk newborns. "We have a veteran staff that has worked together for a long time," said Marc G. Weiss, MD, FAAP, associate professor of pediatrics, neonatology, Stritch, and NICU co-medical director. "Like a quarterback and a receiver who know each others' moves instinctively, we know each other well and there is a lot of interplay that leads to quality care." The NICU, including the state-designated perinatal center that treats sick infants transported from other hospitals to Loyola, has one of the nation's highest survival rates for low-birth-weight infants. "The NICU is one of major reasons why my husband John and I chose Loyola," Becca said. "And based on its reputation and its principles, we were confident that everyone at Loyola would do all they could for me and all my babies." Today Becca and John enjoy playing with Jack, Owen and Maeve and chasing them around their Glen Ellyn home. "Even when they're so active that they're making us crazy, we know how lucky we are to have them. We enjoy watching them grow."
Where to Learn More
Visit www.LoyolaMedicine.org/Fetal_Medicine or call (888) LUHS-888 for more information.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
