97 Days in the NICU
PIH Health NICU Team Nurtured a Premature Baby and His Family
Happy, healthy, and home
The Masaniai family is enjoying quality time together as a family of four.
Josie Masaniai’s second pregnancy didn’t exactly go as planned, but thanks to the experts at PIH Health, it had a very happy ending.
Throughout Josie’s pregnancy, she had intermittent light bleeding, which can be normal, especially in the first trimester. But when she was 27 weeks along, she woke up one night with a large blood clot. She and her husband Joseph immediately headed to PIH Health Whittier Hospital.
“Josie was admitted to the antepartum unit on Labor and Delivery, where we monitored her baby and ran tests to evaluate her condition,” said Cariza Mercurio MD, PIH Health obstetrician. “After a week of monitoring her bleeding had resolved however, she developed worsening abdominal pain and at only 28 weeks, she was found to be in active labor.”
Two hours later, Josie delivered a strong baby boy, Joseph Jr. However, because the baby was born premature and small (2 pounds 13 ounces), he spent the next 97 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). He was cared for by expert doctors and nurses until he was ready to go home.
“Joseph Jr. experienced the full gamut of modern NICU care including mechanical ventilation via nasal prongs, intravenous central lines, IV nutrition and medication, and tube feedings,” explained Devang Patel MD, PIH Health neonatologist. “He eventually grew mature enough to be able to breathe on his own, tolerate oral feedings, and gain good weight, and finally was discharged home at 41 weeks weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces.”
Nobody was happier than Josie and Joseph.
“We were thrilled to finally bring baby Joseph home,” said Josie. “It was New Year’s Eve and that last day was very emotional. While our family was happy to bring our son home, we were also going to miss the NICU team. All of the doctors and nurses were so caring and nice—we knew everyone by name and they truly became like family to us. Now that we’ve discovered PIH Health, we will not go anywhere else.”
To learn more pregnancy and birth services at PIH Health, visit PIHHealth.org/WomensHealth.
