Charlotte (Charlie) Emily Barker is less than a month old, but she already has a flair for drama. At 35 gestational weeks, Charlie was discovered to be breech. For mother Rachel, this meant a scheduled C-section delivery at 38 weeks. But wait. At 37 weeks, Charlie was head down again in her mother’s tummy. 
With things back on track, Rachel, 40, and her husband Christopher, 43, arrived at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas as planned on March 19, 2014, to begin the process of induction. On the Labor and Delivery (L&D) Unit inside the hospital’s Margot Perot Center for Women and Infants, Rachel was made comfortable by L&D nurse LaJunta Daniels. LaJunta stayed with Rachel through her Pitocin drip, when her water broke and through the administration of her epidural. When a late night cervical check turned up a breech position again on baby Charlie, LaJunta made the call for a second opinion.
Rachel’s obstetrician/gynecologist, John Bertrand, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., of Walnut Hill OB/GYN Associates and a member of the Texas Health Dallas medical staff, was quick to respond and perform an ultrasound. The diagnosis was confirmed and Rachel was immediately prepped for her C-section. In the delivery room, it was discovered that Charlie had again turned in a head-down position but the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around her neck and once around her leg.
“I hate to think what could have happened if she had not turned breech on us and we had waited on the delivery,” Rachel said. “I am truly grateful to all of the nurses and doctors on hand who worked so well together. LaJunta especially did an amazing job throughout to keep me calm, answer my questions and make sure things were running smoothly.”
With the drama minimized, parents and newborn settled in together on the hospital’s Postpartum Unit/Newborn Nursery to rest, bond and learn. Rachel and Christopher were versed on important protocols designed with their well-being in mind, including the nurse call button available for emergencies. The nurse call button would later come in handy during a feeding when baby Charlie began choking.
“My husband pressed the button as I was suctioning Charlie’s cheeks,” Rachel remembered. “I hollered ‘My baby is choking!’ as we had been taught. Within seconds, Doris Yates and another Postpartum nurse were in the room scooping up my baby and reviving her. I owe them everything for this.”
Rachel made other connections with the expert nursing staff during her family’s short, but memorable, stay at Texas Health Dallas — including Amy McCarthy of the hospital’s Newborn Nursery team, who helped keep the mom’s spirits up and her eyes open during a long cluster feeding session. Rachel admitted it was hard to leave the nurses and “fantastic room service,” but she is ready to face any future dramas that daughter Charlie may bring.