Stephanie and Jason’s Story: Special Delivery

When your baby’s due date is July 23 but labor begins seven weeks earlier, the maternity center you’ve chosen can make a big difference.

With their busy work schedules, Stephanie Karasek, an inside sales rep, and her husband,  Jason, a production manager, decided to take the day off on June 5 to tie up “the loose ends.” They planned to work on preparing the nursery for their first child, Logan Carter, who wasn’t expected for seven more weeks.

“Around 6 p.m. I was folding baby clothes, and my water broke. I was only 33 weeks along so I was freaking out a bit,” Stephanie recalls. “We called the doctor and headed to Atrium.”

The Karaseks had chosen the Family Birth Center at Atrium Medical Center for the birth of their son. Because the couple had taken birthing classes at Atrium, they were familiar with the campus. “To tell you the truth, I was blown away at how attractive the rooms were, with everything so up-to-date,” says Stephanie. “When we took our tour, we knew that Atrium was where we wanted to welcome Logan.”

Not According to Plan

Due to the unexpected turn of events, the anxious couple first went to Atrium’s Emergency Trauma Center. “Everyone was friendly and calm, and that helped me,” says Stephanie. “They escorted us to Atrium’s Family Birth Center, and the team there went into action. Again, everyone was calm; plus they always kept Jason and me informed.”

Marty Cole, associate nurse manager and educator at the Family Birth Center, says, “Many patients have a written birth plan. Sometimes the birth plan can be followed, or sometimes labor and delivery progress differently. Either way, we communicate to parents exactly what’s happening.”

Casey Boyce, MD, Stephanie’s OB/GYN, arrived at the center shortly after the Karaseks. Dr. Boyce is no stranger to Atrium’s Family Birth Center; it’s not only where she delivers her patients’ babies, but also where she gave birth to her own two children.

“Jason and I had a good support team with us, including my parents and sisters,” Stephanie recalls. “The large, comfortable rooms at Atrium allowed everyone to be with us as we tried to cope with the unknown.”

Soon Stephanie and Jason learned that early labor wasn’t the only complication.

"Stephanie’s baby was leading with his right shoulder, known as a transverse position,” Dr. Boyce says. “Almost without exception, any presentation except head-first calls for a C-section.”

A Cesarean section is the delivery of a baby through a surgical incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus. Dr. Boyce says that nationwide approximately 30 percent of babies are now delivered this way. At Atrium’s Family Birth Center, once a determination has been made, the C-section is performed within 30 minutes.

Delivering a Perfect Bundle of Joy

Stephanie was taken to an operating room. “A nurse had me lean on her,” she recalls. “It was so reassuring to have someone hold my hand and let me know everything that was going on.”

Marty explains, “Parents try to be prepared, but facing a C-section can be frightening. Our team works together to deliver quality medical care and also to reassure mom and dad.”

A healthy baby boy, Logan Carter Karasek, was delivered. “They told me that right as the delivery was happening, he punched his little arm up first,” Stephanie laughs. “He was ready to be born.”

Happily, Logan’s lungs were developed and he could breathe on his own. Stephanie and Jason cared for him in her room. “The nurses seemed to read my mind and answered so many questions about my baby,” Stephanie says.

As Logan continues to thrive at his Springboro home, Stephanie reports that she and Jason find parenthood to be “exhausting — and exhilarating. But nothing in the world compares,” she shares.