Triple the fun Triple the fun (February 18, 2005)

ValleyCare helps deliver three baby boys into the world

The maternity ward at ValleyCare Medical Center was abuzz with three times the usual excitement recently.

Triplets were born Jan. 27 for only the second time since the hospital opened in Livermore in 1961.

"We knew very early on that we were having three boys, so I guess we are as prepared as we can be for what is ahead," said mother Erika Borges.

She and her husband Nelson had tried for several years to become pregnant, according to ValleyCare officials, and worked with John Nunes, M.D., on their fertility issues. Even in this day of fertility drugs, triplets still only occur 184 times in every 100,000 pregnancies.

Erika Borges said they are ecstatic to have their family all at one time, as she put it, and were looking forward to settling in at home.

Nunes was the attending obstetrician when the triplets were delivered.

"Dr. Nunes did a great job of keeping us informed every step along the way," said Borges. "One time we came to the emergency room because it appeared I was in early labor. When we arrived, the emergency room staff said, 'So you're the one having the triplets.' Even they knew of our situation."

Nunes said Borges did extremely well with her pregnancy and was able to carry the boys to 34-1/2 weeks gestation, which was the desired goal. "It is one of the highlights of my career to be able to deliver healthy triplets here at ValleyCare," said Nunes, "and to keep the mother and babies together."

ValleyCare has a level II neonatal intensive care nursery and pediatric specialists on staff 24 hours a day, due to its partnership with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

"The great part is that mother and babies have been able to stay together after delivery because of the specialized care available," said Sharon Pancio, M.D., medical director of ValleyCare's Pediatric Hospital Services.

Every premature baby requires a pediatrician, a pediatric nurse and a respiratory specialist, Pancio said, and the required teams for all three babies were available for the delivery.

"Triplets are usually delivered by C-section, so the operating room was quite full," Pancio said. "There were nine specialists for the babies and seven or eight medical personnel for the mother."

Before the boys went home, Erika was able to stay with them during the day, thanks to the "nursery mom service." It provides a patient room if one is available to the mother and father in order to allow them time with their premature newborns until they are ready to go home.

Erika and Nelson Borges withheld the names of their sons and their city. -Dolores Fox Ciardelli

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