Michaela and Nic were excited to welcome their first baby, Xander. The pregnancy was going smoothly until a growth scan at 32 weeks. Only a week before Christmas, Michaela was told her baby was in heart failure and she needed to get to a hospital that provided expert fetal and neonatal he needed.
Mycaela Scalzo and Donovan Martin, parents of one with another on the way, were going to their 20-week ultrasound appointment with the typical feelings of anxiousness and excitement parents have. During this appointment, the baby’s size, organs and overall health are checked. But Mycaela and Donovan’s excitement soon turned to fear. During the check-up, an unknown mass was found on their baby’s face. The provider suspected it was oral teratoma – a noncancerous but still potentially dangerous tumor that could block the baby’s airway, create feeding issues and more.
Mycaela Scalzo and Donovan Martin, parents of one with another on the way, were going to their 20-week ultrasound appointment with the typical feelings of anxiousness and excitement parents have. During this appointment, the baby’s size, organs and overall health are checked. But Mycaela and Donovan’s excitement soon turned to fear. During the check-up, an unknown mass was found on their baby’s face. The provider suspected it was oral teratoma – a noncancerous but still potentially dangerous tumor that could block the baby’s airway, create feeding issues and more.
When Darby, and her husband Brad, went in for a routine check-up at their family care provider in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the doctors diagnosed baby Muller with spina bifida, a birth defect that occurs when a section of the baby’s spinal column does not form properly and a gap appears.
Families in the Twin Cities north metro now have access to 24/7 neonatal experts providing care for even more prematurely born infants.
The Mother Baby Center, a partnership between Children’s Minnesota and Allina Health, is expanding its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) services. The Center will enhance neonatal care at its Mercy Hospital location in Coon Rapids, shifting from a Level II special care nursery to a Level III NICU.
Transport service is available around the clock, seven days a week — the neonatal team is equipped to implement treatments such as nitric oxide and active cooling therapies immediately upon arrival at the hospital and during the transport.
The Midwest Fetal Care Center treats babies with high-risk conditions in utero.
The parents are grateful for the partnership between her doctors in Fargo and the Midwest Fetal Care Center in the Twin Cities.
The Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic at Children’s Minnesota provides continuing care for babies who were born premature, with medical complexities such as congenital heart disease, or facing other health challenges.