Lisa Starkey says she is so happy she chose Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital and the Veard Family Birthing Center to delivery her sweet baby, Barrett!
She had heard great things about one of our providers, James Matheson, DO. He is one of the only physicians in Lorain, Ohio that comes in for his own deliveries and is also skilled with diabetes patients.
Lisa has type 1 diabetes, which comes with a myriad of issues during pregnancy. Sometimes babies have issues regulating their blood sugar after they come out of the womb. Lisa’s baby was indeed born with very low blood sugar, so he had to go to the special care unit at the hospital.
Our Lorain market has a special care nursery for babies born prematurely who have health issues that are not serious enough to require a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Baby Barrett was placed on a nasogastric feeding tube to give him much-needed calories so that his blood sugar levels would increase. He spent a total of five days in the special care unit.
“It was hard not having my son right there with me, but it was just short walk to see him,” Lisa shares. “The nurses and staff were all so attentive and constantly checked on Barrett, which gave me peace of mind.”
After her C-section, Lisa recalls having issues with nausea.
“Everyone was great, but there were a couple of nurses that really went above and beyond. They did everything that they could for me. I wound up trying five different medications to help with the nausea.”
Lisa adds, “before giving birth I was really nervous. Others were telling me to go to a bigger city hospital because of my diabetes. Barrett was measuring overweight and I was nervous about everything. But everyone made me feel comfortable in the delivery process and everyone at Lorain Hospital knew what they were doing.”
Since delivering, Lisa’s C-section has healed really well and she was cleared early to go back to activities. Barrett is doing great, too.
“He is such a sweet boy,” Lisa shares. “It was a really easy transition from the hospital to going home.”
Ultimately, Lisa was very happy with where she chose to give birth.
“The care team was awesome. I wouldn’t want anyone else to take care of Barrett and me. They kept me calm and made me feel good. I’m so glad that I was able to deliver close to home.”
Learn more about the maternity care services we offer at Mercy Health.
