Baby #3!

Disclaimer: This blog post is in partnership with Atrium Health. All opinions are my own.

In the whirlwind of 2020, we impulsively decided to make a move out of Huntersville, and make our way to South Charlotte where we hoped to plant permanent roots. As if this change wasn't big enough for us, about two weeks after moving into our new home, I found out I was pregnant. 

We have been using Atrium Health for all our medical needs for the last seven years. My OB/GYNs, our pediatricians and primary care doctors, and even Sienna's specialty Cystic Fibrosis care team are all part of Atrium Health. Keeping our doctors all within the same health network has made keeping up with our medical needs easy thanks to having the information all in one record and easy access to the specialists we need. When I found out I was pregnant again, I had to quickly find an OB/GYN near our new home. I stuck with Charlotte OB/GYN, a practice I had been going to in Huntersville, but moved my care to their SouthPark location.

This pregnancy had a lot going on. I’m over 35, a carrier to a genetic disease, and we are in the middle of a pandemic where pregnancy now made me "high risk" for severe Covid-19 illness. I'm so grateful for the care I received at Charlotte OB/GYN, where they helped me navigate these things.

All in all, I had a completely uneventful and healthy pregnancy. But being over 35, I did have additional scans to ensure our sweet one was growing healthy. I was followed at the CMC Women's Institute for a deeper level anatomy scan and follow up growth checks until they determined everything looked good with baby and me. I also had weekly Non Stress Tests (NSTs) that started around 32 weeks to monitor baby and had a planned induction at 39 weeks. However, we didn't make it to my scheduled induction as our little man decided to come on his own terms two weeks earlier.

Then there was Covid-19. When caregivers for high-risk children became eligible for vaccination earlier this year, Sienna’s care team recommended Joe and I get vaccinated to give her a layer of protection. I talked with my OB/GYN on the risks/benefits/recommendation of getting vaccinated while pregnant as this was still fairly early on in the vaccination roll out here in NC. I wanted desperately to protect Sienna, but of course worried about side effects and the impact on our growing baby. My OB/GYN stood by the recommendation of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which was to go ahead and vaccinate. I got my first Covid-19 vaccination at 11 weeks pregnant, and my second vaccination at 15 weeks pregnant. Knowing even more now about how severe Covid-19 could be for those pregnant, and seeing research that proves babies are passed on antibodies and given some protection, I am 100% confident with the decision I made at the time. By getting vaccinated, I gave an extra layer of protection to ALL my babies, plus myself and our community!

And lastly, the elephant in the room. Will this baby also have Cystic Fibrosis?

We have had vastly different experiences with pregnancy/newborn testing when it comes to Cystic Fibrosis.

With Sienna, it was not even on our radar. I'm not sure I was even screened for it to see if I was a carrier during pregnancy. We got the rude CF introduction when she was flagged on her newborn screen. At the time, we were told she was likely only a carrier and we needed to do the sweat test as a follow up to rule out CF (we assumed carrier because she was not failure to thrive/no visible CF symptoms). But as you all know, the sweat test confirmed CF instead. After the sweat test, we worked with the pediatric genetics team at Atrium Health Levine Children’s to further investigate Sienna's mutations. Full gene sequencing was done to determine her two mutations, and then we ran labs on Joe and me to determine who passed on which mutation to her.

With Tessa, we knew CF was a possibility, and that we had the option to prenatally test via Amnio or CVS. We opted to not test and to wait till birth- as the risks to the pregnancy were not worth it. We chose to deliver at CMC, as the Levine Children’s NICU was there in case intervention was needed from the start. We had no other plan other than to wait and see what her newborn screen came back with. When she arrived, we patiently (er, painfully) waited for her newborn screen. It was a completely agonizing wait. It was during this time we switched Sienna's care over to the Levine Children’s pulmonology team, who provided us with more guidance for CF testing for Tessa. When her newborn screen finally came back normal, we decided to confirm via bloodwork as we knew the exact two mutations to look for. Luckily, results came back quickly and told us she was indeed just a CF carrier.

Now, what was our plan for this baby? In discussions with my OB/GYN, Sienna's pulmonologist at Levine Children’s and the Genetics team at Levine's, we decided to collect cord blood at birth and get the sample sent out immediately for testing (tests are done via third party lab). This prevents additional blood draws on our newborn and a hopeful quicker determination if he also has CF. It was a seamless process working with everyone to ensure my labor and delivery team were aware of what was needed!

I truly appreciated the care and guidance of our doctors at Atrium Health to make this a safe and healthy pregnancy.