
From Struggles To Smiles
He is the best baby ever! The happiest baby. The chubbiest baby. The sweetest baby. The baby who loves to smile, laugh and snuggle.” That’s how Kayla Freeman, RN, BSN, fondly describes her second-born, Ford.
It’s difficult to imagine now what life would be like without the newest member of the family. But at one point, Kayla and her husband, Danny, were unsure if they would be able to grow their family as they had hoped.
Kayla has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a common hormonal condition that affects women of reproductive age. She says, “A doctor in North Carolina told me that I would have a hard time getting pregnant because of PCOS. So I was surprised of course when I learned I was pregnant with my firstborn, Asher.”
Kayla and Danny welcomed Asher in 2021 while Danny was stationed at Fort Liberty, a military installation of the United States Army. He left active duty to join the National Guard following Asher’s birth, which allowed the couple to move closer to her family in Pittsburgh.
While the Bethel Park native raised Asher and Daniel, Danny’s older son from a previous relationship, Kayla also took on a nursing role at the St. Clair Hospital Family Birth Center. It was then that the long journey to getting pregnant for a second time began.
“When I started working here, I was talking with a colleague one day about how I needed to find an OB/GYN who accepted TRICARE, the uniformed services health care program for active duty service members. Thankfully, one of the physicians chimed in upon hearing that conversation,” shares Kayla.
That physician was Amy B. Turner, DO, of Advanced Women’s Care of Pittsburgh, who Kayla began seeing for OB/GYN care. It was serendipity that Dr. Turner became her doctor, as she specializes in fertility and Kayla would need medical intervention to get pregnant with Ford—though she didn’t know it at the time.
“We started trying again right before Asher turned two. We accidentally got pregnant with him, but now we were struggling to get pregnant for a second time after actively trying for some time using ovulation strips, apps and more. When I asked Dr. Turner if that was normal, she said we could start looking into things at that time since I have PCOS,” explains Kayla.
“Dr. Turner ordered all the lab work. She got my hormones tested, made sure I was ovulating, and checked that my egg reserves were good. We were checking all the boxes,” says Kayla. “All of that looked good, so we started talking next steps. While fertility medications were an option, I chose to move forward with a hysterosalpingogram or HSG because I didn’t want to prolong things any further.”
During a HSG, a contrast dye is injected into the uterus and X-ray images are taken as the dye flows through the uterus and fallopian tubes. When Michelle L. Harvison, MD, Chair of OB/GYN, performed the procedure, Kayla distinctly remembers, “Only my uterus lit up on the screen. Both my tubes were blocked.”
She continues, “Dr. Harvison said she could try to force the tubes open by flushing the dye a couple more times if I was doing alright. She was able to get one side open but not the other, so Dr. Harvison suggested I talk to Dr. Turner about my options.”
While Kayla may have been able to get pregnant now that one fallopian tube was clear, there was a higher chance of ectopic pregnancy since the reason for the other blockage was still unknown. So they decided that Dr. Turner would perform an exploratory procedure, where she found and removed scar tissue to open the other fallopian tube.
“The anesthesia team came in and talked to me. Dr. Turner came in and explained everything that she was going to do. They were all very calming and answered any questions I had,” says Kayla. “It was a quick and easy outpatient procedure, so I went home the same day.”
The successful outpatient procedure enabled Kayla to quickly become pregnant in August 2023—approximately one year after she and her husband first began trying to conceive their second child. Kayla says, “I told Danny the good news on his birthday.”
It was a full-circle moment nine months later, in April 2024, when Dr. Turner delivered Ford at the Family Birth Center after being with Kayla through every step of her journey. He was a healthy baby boy—born at nine pounds, two ounces and 22 inches long! Though she started experiencing early labor before reaching full term, Kayla was medically induced to ensure her labor progressed.
“My induction was honestly the best experience ever! Even my husband tells everybody that it was the best experience,” Kayla shares. “I mean, Danny has had three kids now, and he wants everybody to have the same awesome experience.”
She continues, “The team, my colleagues, decorated my room and were really respectful of everything that I wanted. Mandy, a friend and fellow nurse who previously served as my preceptor, was with me throughout my time at the Family Birth Center. She was phenomenal, going so far as to hold the monitor on the baby when he wouldn’t stay still.”
“I’ve always said I would not deliver my baby where I worked if I didn’t trust the team. In fact, I didn’t deliver my baby where I worked in North Carolina as I didn’t feel like I had the same trust as I do with the physicians here at St. Clair,” Kayla stresses. “I see how they care for and remember their patients. I know they’re invested in what happens with every patient.”
A commitment to that level of care is a hallmark of St. Clair Health—one that is shared by the physicians, nurses like Kayla, and everyone else at the Family Birth Center. Dr. Harvison says, “We have multiple physician groups who deliver babies at the Family Birth Center. We work so well together not only because we care about one other. We also take care of each other and our families. It’s the same with the nurses, because we rely on them so much.”
She adds, “Our team is big enough that we have all of the resources needed to deliver high-quality obstetrical care, but we’re not so big that you lose the personal touch. Patients develop relationships with the physicians who see you through every stage of your pregnancy. The nurses who take care of you during your labor and delivery. The pediatricians who take care of your newborn.”
One nurse is assigned to one patient upon admission—and they remain intimately involved before, during, and after your delivery. Kayla explains, “Our Family Birth Center is one unit, so the nurse who cared for you during labor may also be your postpartum nurse. It’s very individualized care because I get to spend so much time with my patients and really get to know them.”
She continues, “I have experience in pediatric care, so I also work in the special care nursery at the Family Birth Center. There are times where I will care for a mother through labor and delivery, then see her again during my next shift if the baby requires a special level of care.”
A board-certified Pediatric Hospitalist is in-house 24/7 to monitor babies in the Level II Special Care Nursery and provide other care as needed. Additionally, a certified lactation counselor from the on-site Lactation Center is available to help new mothers learn the ins and outs of breastfeeding. And a perinatal social worker will make sure mothers are prepared for discharge. Plus, a variety of educational programs and support groups are offered for new parents and their families.
All of these caring professionals—and more—work as a team to make decisions because they recognize no birth is routine, and no baby ordinary, at the Family Birth Center. The personalized care each mother and child receives from this team makes the labor and delivery experience at St. Clair Hospital truly
unique. As Kayla puts it, “You are a patient here, not a number.”
This exceptional level of care extends far beyond the Family Birth Center. The dedicated providers at both St. Clair Medical Group OB/GYN and Advanced Women’s Care of Pittsburgh provide the personalized, comprehensive OB/GYN care that women need throughout their lifetimes. Kayla says, “It’s comforting to have that continuation of care. It makes you feel safe.”
“I’ve been here long enough to deliver a patient’s baby, and then a few years later, do her hysterectomy—all under one umbrella, in one place,” says Dr. Harvison. “I also see multiple generations of women from the same family for care. I completed a mom’s hysterectomy last year and just recently delivered her daughter’s baby.”
Even better, Dr. Harvison and her colleagues offer this incomparable care close to home—as a majority of the providers not only work but also live in the communities they serve. She explains, “Physicians go to where they’re drawn to. Many of us chose to come to St. Clair Health because we want to serve the communities we grew up in.”
Dr. Harvison continues, “We love our jobs, and we love taking care of people in our community. When we see patients out in the community, we hope they will comment ‘I’m so glad this is my doctor’ or say hello.” As both an employee and patient, Kayla isn’t shy about sharing those sorts of positive reviews. She says, “I cannot brag enough about our doctors and our staff. I love it here! It’s why my cousin is now seeing our doctors and will soon deliver her first baby at the Family Birth Center.”