Birth Story: Ankita, Ashok and Anya

“Our decision to have our daughter, Anya, at Overlake Childbirth Center was the best decision we could have made,” says Ankita Bhatnagar. That’s because Overlake has a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where baby Anya was treated for 10 days following her birth.

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“It was quite a dramatic delivery,” Ankita recalls. When she arrived at Overlake Childbirth Center, her contractions were already quite strong. “It was an abrupt labor. The contractions were intense and came so quickly, in six pushes, Anya was born,” she says.

During the delivery, Anya’s oxygen level had been dropping and was at 80%, which can have a negative impact on organs and tissue. She was suffering from Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS). Meconium is a dark, sticky substance that babies usually pass a few hours after they are born, but sometimes it is passed in the womb. During the fast delivery, Anya had inhaled a mixture of meconium and amniotic fluid into her lungs, clogging and irritating them, making it hard for her to breathe.

“They moved her to the NICU right away, where she was observed and received oxygen support for 10 days,” Ankita says. “It was hard for my husband, Ashok, and I to leave her in the evenings, but we knew, from what we had observed during the day, that the nurses were taking good care of her.”

During the days, Ankita and Ashok were with Anya in her private treatment room. “On the positive side of this difficult situation, we learned how to care for her from the nurses while we were there; how to breastfeed and bottle feed her, and change her diaper, everything we needed to know as new parents,” she recalls. “We don’t have family living close to us, so their support and encouragement were especially important.”

“Anya’s room was set up so it was quite comfortable for us to be with her during the day and that made it easier,” Anya says. “From time to time, the doctors would remove the oxygen support to see if her breathing had improved. On the tenth day, they decided that she was doing quite well with her feeding and her oxygen level was up where it should be, so we could take her home.”

Now 3 months old, Anya is revealing her personality and letting Ankita and Ashok know what she likes and doesn’t like—in other words, she’s a perfectly normal, healthy baby.

“We can’t thank the doctors and nurses enough for the care they gave our daughter and the support they gave us.”

At Overlake, we know every birth is unique, and yours will be, too. Our team is here to support you throughout your entire birth experience and help you navigate the expected—and unexpected. Visit Overlake Childbirth Center to learn more.