A Double Blessing: The Howard Twins’ Journey

Marissa Howard, 35 weeks pregnant with twins, was anticipating a routine check-up at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Family Birth Place. Shortly after arriving at Maternal-Fetal Medicine with her husband Austin, she underwent a Doppler ultrasound measurement, used to gauge how well blood was flowing to her babies. 

A previous scan had revealed one of the twins was experiencing “raised resistance”, meaning that blood was having to work harder to flow.  And they had been told that if this was the case in her next Doppler study, she would need to give birth. They were awaiting the results when their doctor walked into the room, announcing, “You guys are having babies today.”

At the time, Marissa’s OB/GYN doctor was out of the country.  However, Austin affirms, “At no point did we feel uneasy about that, because from the second we showed up at the hospital, we felt comfortable with the on-call provider whom we had never met before.” 

As Marissa’s birthing experience began, she was filled with anxiety not knowing what to expect. She was quickly reassured by the compassionate, personalized care of the labor/delivery team. Nurses and doctors treated them like family, explaining what was going on at every step of the way and what would happen next. 

When an exhausted Marissa had been in labor for 24 hours, the doctor advised a Caesarean section. They were consulted and agreed it was best for the babies. Daughter Harlow entered the world first, followed by their son Duke. Each of the tiny babies, around five pounds in weight, were brought to Marissa’s postpartum suite where she and Austin would care for them. 

A nurse arrived for a routine check of the infants’ blood sugar level and found that Duke’s was low. After multiple tests showed no improvement, he was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that night for monitoring. There, as he slept, his blood oxygen level dropped below normal repeatedly, known as desaturation. As a result, he stayed in the NICU for six days until his oxygen level stabilized.

Having just had surgery, Marissa was grateful that the NICU was just around the corner from her room, close enough for her to walk there and be with her son. Austin was thankful as well, because he could visit and hold Duke at any time, since the family-oriented NICU was open to parents 24 hours a day. 

Today the babies are doing just fine, and Marissa declares, “I always recommend Ascension Sacred Heart and rave about it. We could not have had a better experience.” Austin adds, “The entire health care staff was phenomenal from the moment we checked in.

He confesses that prior to the pregnancy they had no idea all the healthcare services they would need were available locally at the Family Birth Center. Both express their thankfulness for the fundraising efforts of Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation and its supporters such as the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, whose generous donations helped make construction of the NICU possible.