DELIVERING A HIGH-RISK BABY SAFELY AT 40
When Nadine found out she was pregnant with her fourth child at 40 years old, she was elated. She was healthy, strong, and couldn’t wait for this next chapter of life. But as a labor and delivery nurse at UC Davis Health for 15 years, Nadine also knew her age meant her pregnancy would be considered high-risk.
“I’m fortunate because I’m a nurse, so I understood that there are just so many aspects that go into caring for high-risk pregnancies – from blood work to multiple ultrasounds. I knew I needed quality care,” she says.
“UC Davis Health is a teaching hospital so we’re constantly learning and acquiring new information – and that attention to detail truly makes me feel comfortable and confident.”
It was this knowledge and knowing that “every specialist is available every hour of the day” that allowed Nadine to choose UC Davis Health.
“I felt so blessed to be cared for by basically my own family, and I couldn’t be more of an advocate of our system.”—Nadine
The right expertise
Immediately, maternity specialists put Nadine in antepartum fetal testing, which examines the baby’s well-being during pregnancy and determines if the baby is getting enough oxygen.
To take every precaution, Nadine also met with a genetic counselor as part of her maternity care to help her family learn if there might be any conditions affecting their baby. Doctors spent time getting to better understand their family history and letting them know what their baby could be at risk for.
The close attention and care provided by UC Davis Health staff wasn’t surprising to Nadine, but it was deeply comforting.
“I’ve seen miracles here. We have the most amazing nursing staff in the area. Any and every circumstance has walked through our doors, and we take care of it,” she says.
“Our care is unmatched. We have family medicine to maternal-fetal medicine all the way up to fetal surgeons. And when there’s an emergency, a pregnant woman doesn’t go through the regular emergency room – she comes straight to a labor and delivery operating room. It’s like a hospital within a hospital.”
Discovering healthy
On May 16, 2021, Nadine and her family proudly gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
“I felt so blessed to be cared for by basically my own family, and I couldn’t be more of an advocate of our system,” Nadine says.
And now that baby is here, Nadine can’t wait to take her whole family on the outdoor adventures she’s always loved.
“This pregnancy was an absolute wonder. Everything went so well and now I’m ready to spend every minute I can with my daughter.”