LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's the moment no parent prepares for during a routine ultrasound. A local couple thought they were about to lose their unborn baby until a doctor told them about a procedure that could save his life.
It began as a perfect first trimester.
"It was a surprise, but a joy-filled surprise," Jake Pugh said.
Faith and Jake Pugh were expecting their first child, and were excited for the gender reveal at their 20-week ultrasound. But news of their baby boy was quickly overshadowed when the doctors saw something else on the monitor.
"We found out I was in pre-term labor," Faith said. "She gave me a more thorough exam. Her face dropped when she saw how dilated I was. She said, you need to go to Norton's right now, I don't want you to go through this alone."
Far from good news, at 20 weeks, Faith's baby would not survive delivery.
"That's when Jake and I looked at each other, like, are we about to have this baby? I think we're about to lose this baby. They weren't saying that, but everything was pointing to that," Faith said.
"There were tears. She gave us a moment to collect ourselves," Jake said.
Several days passed on the Labor and Delivery floor before the couple met Dr. Helen How, with Norton Children's Maternal Fetal Medicine. She gave them two options.
"If we don't do anything about it, there's a high chance they're going to lose their pregnancy," How said.
The couple could also choose to undergo a procedure called rescue cervical cerclage, where doctors stitch around the cervix hoping to prolong the pregnancy to at least 24 weeks, for a viable baby.
"There's no guarantee," Dr. How said. "The national statistics for rescue cerclage is a 50/50 chance to get a viable baby."
Faith said How was "pretty confident" she could do the procedure.
"She explained all the risks, said, there could be an infection, I could break your water, it's a high-risk situation," she said.
She was roughly three centimeters dilated. Faith moved forward with the cerclage, knowing there was a 65% chance her water would break during the procedure which undoubtedly would lead to premature delivery.
"Of course, there is this nervousness that we're going to end up with a baby with long-term health issues," How said.
The cerclage was a success.
The goal in Faith's case was to get the baby somewhere between 24 and 27 weeks gestation.
"What's amazing is that we were able to get to full term in Faith's case," How said.
"I got to 39 and 3 days," Faith said.
Sam was born in August; a healthy, happy baby boy.
"When I am up in the middle of the night feeding him, I remind myself and pray and thank the Lord. He is a miracle. I don't want to take him for granted. We are so, so thrilled. So thankful," Faith said.
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