TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about stillbirth and infant loss, which may be triggering to some.
Lydia Swortzel and her husband Steven Reece spent seven years and $50,000 to become pregnant and have the family they desired. While we're sure the news of her pregnancy with twins was welcomed with immense joy, the two could not have anticipated the arduous and traumatic journey they would have to endure before they could settle into the daily joys of being parents.
Swortzel and Reece would become part of the 1-in-10 parents in the US who are affected by preterm birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The journey began when Swortzel started experiencing lower back and stomach cramps long before her due date.
Swortzel went into labor at 21 weeks.
Later, Swortzel would learn those cramps were contractions, Newsweek reports. All of this might have been normal if Swortzelâs pregnancy had progressed beyond 37 weeks. Instead, she was 21 weeks into her pregnancy with identical twin boys and had gone into labor.
A baby is classified as extremely preterm if they are born before 25 weeks of pregnancy. And at 22 weeks gestation, most fetuses arenât considered viable.
'I could tell by the sonographerâs face that it was terrible,' Swortzel recalled.
At the hospital, receiving an ultrasound, Swortzel learned that something had gone âseriously wrongâ with her pregnancy. âI could tell by the sonographerâs face that it was terrible,â Swortzel told Newsweek.
After looking at the screen, the sonographer went and grabbed the doctor. âBaby A was in the birthing canal while in the amniotic sac, but Baby B was fine. I couldn't stop crying as they rushed me to the emergency room. I was so scared I was going to lose my babies."
Swortzel was admitted to the hospital where she would stay for two weeks with her feet propped up.
Swortzelâs amniotic sac was leaking. Doctors worked to save both of the babies and keep them alive and inside of Swortzelâs body. If they were born at 21 weeks, there would be no chance of survival. "It was the most nerve-wracking and scariest experience of our lives," Swortzel said.
"I stayed in the hospital for two-and-a-half weeks. They put my bed in a position where I was tilted with my feet up for the entire time. I wasn't even allowed to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.â
In this position, Swortzel was able to delay her twinsâ arrival by another three weeks. At 24 weeks, she received a corticosteroid injection to help their lungs develop before birth.
At 24 weeks, a change meant she had to deliver.
On January 29, 2021, Baby Aâs heart rate dropped and Swortzel was forced to deliver. "Baby A's leg was out of the birth canal and there was nothing more they could do to prevent his birth," she said. "He lost too much oxygen and all of the amniotic fluid. He was likely going to have health issues because of that."
Baby A, who the couple named Winston, sadly died 20 minutes after he was born. Swortzel had no time to process the loss, because she immediately went into labor with her son Oliver. She was in complete shock and described the birth as traumatic.
"It was so hard for me to comprehend what was happening," Swortzel said. "The nurse brought Oliver over to me and he was wrapped up in a plastic bag. I was able to give him a kiss and then they incubated him. We were mourning, in shock, and concerned about Oliver all simultaneously."
In addition to the mourning and concern, Swortzel was simply in disbelief. âAll the check-ups before 21 weeks were perfect and everything was fine."
Oliver stayed in the NICU for 123 days.
The couple spent the night with Winston in a hospital grieving room. His brother Oliver had a 123-day NICU stay ahead of him, and it was quite eventful. Oliver, who weighed 1 lb., 3 oz. at birth, dropped to under 1 lb. at one point.
His right lung collapsed three times. He contracted sepsis twice. He had a grade 1 brain bleed and a hole in his heart. He fought back from all of it.
"His lungs were so fragile but he never gave up," Swortzel said. "I felt like there was no hope until the day he came home."
Today he is a happy and healthy 2-year-old.
Oliver was discharged on June 1, 2021. "The last two years have been traumatic, but joyful. I don't wish NICU on anybody. It is traumatic. We have blocked it out," Swortzel said. "When he came home on June 1, it was like it didn't happen."
Doctors believed that Oliver would have cognitive issues due to his brain bleed. They also suspected he would live with cerebral palsy. But heâs been monitored by specialists and there are no indicators of either condition.
âHe amazes me every day. He is smaller than the average 24-month-old as he measures the same as a 20-month-old. However, that doesn't hold him back, he is walking and holding things," Swortzel said. Oliver is nothing short of a miracle. "It's crazy to think he was once given a 30% survival and now he is a happy and healthy 2-year-old."
