Worth the Drive – Expert High-Risk OB Care

Like many couples, Maria and Chris Xiromeritis of West Bloomfield desperately wanted a child.

After two early miscarriages, they started to question whether they’d ever have a baby. Then they went to an infertility specialist and had two more early miscarriages before finally carrying a pregnancy into the second trimester.

But their difficulties were just beginning.

Maria said getting into the second trimester felt like a milestone, but serious complications came during Week 18. Maria and Chris went to a high-risk obstetrics specialist near their home. After extensive ultrasound and amniocentesis, they learned grim news: The baby wasn’t growing and the specialist didn’t offer much hope.

That’s when they found Marjorie Treadwell, M.D., Director of Obstetric Ultrasound at Hutzel Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

“She was so good and so caring,” Maria said. “I knew from the minute I met her that she was the right doctor for us. And I’d seen a lot of doctors.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that Dr. Treadwell could do at that point. The baby was stillborn at about 20 weeks, but Dr. Treadwell was determined to find out why the baby had stopped growing.

“There didn’t seem to be enough blood flow,” Dr. Treadwell said. “We eventually found that Maria carried a genetic mutation that results abnormal function of a protein which has been associated with abnormal development of a fetus.”

The condition is known as an MTHFR mutation. If left untreated, it is associated with pregnancy problems, stillbirth, and certain birth defects. It also could cause problems for Maria’s health, increasing her chance of heart disease or stroke.

Fortunately, the doctor knew exactly how to treat the condition. She started Maria on a high dose of folic acid, much higher than is normally required for pre-natal health. The high doses of folic acid aid the body in making proteins that support fetal growth.

With the condition under control, Maria and Chris returned to the infertility specialist and soon were pregnant again. Dr. Treadwell followed Maria’s condition very closely during the pregnancy.

“She did ultrasounds weekly and she was so good, she’d turn the machine on and almost immediately know what was going on,” Maria said.

This was important since Maria’s complications weren’t over yet.

At about 24 weeks, Dr. Treadwell began to suspect Maria would deliver the baby early. At 27 weeks, the doctor knew the baby was coming soon. She gave Maria two shots of steroids to help speed development of the baby’s lungs. Maria said she believes this saved her daughter’s life.

On March 26, 2004, Maria gave birth to baby Ava. She was 11 weeks early.

Ava spent her first two days in the Hutzel’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before moving to the hospital’s special care nursery. After six weeks in the hospital, Ava went home to West Bloomfield.

“Everyone at Hutzel was terrific,” Maria said. “The nurses were just unbelievable. The staff and doctors were wonderful. It was worth the drive.”

Today, Ava is a healthy infant. In early July, she weighed almost 11 pounds. Maria and Chris are thrilled.

“This pregnancy wasn’t easy,” Maria said. “But it was worth it. It was so worth it.”

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