A Team Approach Leads to Successful Labor and Delivery

12/3/2024

“It takes a village” is a saying many of us have heard, but for Kristyn Kitchell, this phrase took on a deeply personal meaning during her birth journey.

On Easter, the 30-year-old Westville resident noticed significant swelling in her feet, but at nearly 34 weeks pregnant, she assumed it was from her busy day of going to church and multiple family holiday celebrations.

She made a mental note to address the swelling with her doctor, Dr. Julius Ellis, at her next scheduled OB-GYN appointment the following Tuesday. Although Kitchell had also been experiencing high blood pressure and some visual changes that included a small spot appearing in her right eye’s vision, she attributed that to anxiety-induced stress. The year before, she had experienced a miscarriage.

At her doctor’s appointment, Kitchell’s blood pressure was at a concerning 146/95. Dr. Ellis immediately advised hospitalization so that she could be monitored since high blood pressure in pregnant women can increase the risk of complications for both mother and baby.

Kitchell was admitted to Northwest Health - La Porte where her medical team consulted with Dr. Guillermo Font, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. After careful assessment, the team determined that inducing labor would be the safest option to protect both Kitchell and her baby from potential complications associated with her high blood pressure.

After nearly two days of labor, Kitchell gave birth to her daughter, Bonnie, at 35 weeks.

“It was a very long process,” she said. “My nurses were amazing, but Bonnie was cozy and as I now know, very stubborn.”

Kitchell struggled to dilate and her labor stalled. To help bring her out of this stall, her OB team used a “spinning babies” maneuver to help position the baby and encourage progression. This specialized technique involves gentle movements and positioning exercises designed to align the baby optimally within the pelvis, making it easier for labor to advance naturally.

“I had the same night nurse, Addison, every night,” she said. “I honestly get emotional thinking about it because she was so amazing. You could tell she was just as exhausted as I was because she was doing everything she could to get me to progress. I don’t think she left my side once.”

After birth, Bonnie was admitted to the Level II NICU at Northwest Health - La Porte where she received specialized care due to her premature birth. Although Bonnie was born five weeks early, Kitchell was able to keep her newborn daughter in the private room with her during her entire stay thanks to the priority the hospital places on skin-to-skin bonding and breastfeeding.

“She was very healthy,” Kitchell said. “She experienced a little jaundice and had a slightly low body temperature, but we kept her under the heat and double capped for the first 24 to 48 hours. Her jaundice levels went down naturally without light therapy.”

Lactation specialists at the hospital provided Kitchell with the support she needed to breastfeed Bonnie, with donor milk from the Milk Bank helping to bridge the gap and meet Kitchell’s breastfeeding goals.

“I was very thankful for the opportunity to use donated milk for my girl,” she said. “Bonnie was having issues latching and feeding originally, but she caught on.” With the help from her lactation specialist, Sonja, and the outpatient lactation staff, Bonnie went from being 100% bottle fed to now exclusively nursing.

“There were moments where it felt like my hopes of breastfeeding was far-fetched, but looking back to where we are now, I am so grateful for Sonja’s support,” Kitchell said. “As a new mom, I can see how it would be easy to stop, but Sonja always encouraged me, and I am so thankful for her help.”

Reflecting on her experience, Kitchell was struck by how her “village” of nurses, doctors and specialists supported her every step of the way.

“I really can’t express how amazing the nursing staff was,” she said. “The day I had Bonnie, I told my husband that I really could not have done it without them. Each one of them was there for me at the perfect time in my labor and postpartum care. It was like each had their own specialty and I got each one when I needed them most.”

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