Baby Love: Fairview Holds Reunion for the Neonatal Intensive Care Ward

Jaime Neuman woke up on March 23, 2011 and immediately knew that something was wrong. The Farmington woman was 36 weeks pregnant. For the last week, she'd felt pain in her torso, but that morning the ache was unbearable.

"Until then it had been tolerable, but that day it felt like my ribs were exploding," Neuman recalled.

She was rushed to the Fairview Ridges Emergency Room where it was discovered that the first-time mom was suffering from Pregnancy Induced Hyptertension, a condition which can have serious consequences for both the mother and the baby if not treated with haste. Neuman was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where doctors told her it would be best to give birth immediately. After 19 hours, her daughter Anastasia was born at 5 pounds and 4 ounces. Due to the early birth, the child spent eight days in the NICU.

Anastasia is now a healthy and spirited girl who will be one year old on Saturday. She is just one of dozens of babies to pass through the ward, which attained status as a level-three intensive care unit in 2008. Each year, about 12 to 13 percent of the 2,800 babies delivered at Fairview end up in the NICU for care, said Nancy Misurek, nurse manager of the NICU and pediatrics. Prior to 2008, families had to take their babies to Minneapolis for treatment.

The close proximity was a blessing for Whitney Kaehr, a Burnsville woman who recently gave birth to twins.

"It was a big relief. I live just five minutes away from here so I could easily come to stay with my son," Kaehr said.

Tuesday, Kaehr, Neuman and other parents were invited back to Fairview for a reunion dinner and party. Misurek said the event offered the staff a rare chance to see the babies they'd cared for once more. 

"It's very heart-warming to see this many people turn out," Misurek said of the NICU's first reunion. "It's very touching. We're honored to be able to care for families and their babies."

For parents, the dinner was a chance to say thanks.

"(The staff) was awesome," said Rea Westley, who was holding her seven-month-old Owen. "They took such good care of him and me." 

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