Triumph of a Miracle Baby: Overcoming 8 Miscarriages on a Journey of Hope
Carissa Morris and her husband Dave are eagerly anticipating their first Christmas with their ‘miracle’ baby, Oliver, who arrived on December 17, 2021, after a 13-year journey of trying to conceive.
Carissa Morris, aged 33, and her husband Dave, aged 32, residing in Wickham, Western Australia, joyously welcomed their beautiful son, Oliver, into the world on December 17, 2021.
Their path to parenthood has been marked by challenges, as Carissa experienced eight miscarriages and held onto the hope of having a child. Carissa, a technical planner, shared, “We’ve been trying for years to have a natural baby. We conceived several times initially, but unfortunately, we faced multiple miscarriages, none of which progressed beyond six weeks.”
“We tried for years naturally to have a baby, initially conceiving multiple times, but we only had multiple miscarriages and never got past six weeks,” Carissa explained.
After undergoing tests, they discovered that one of Carissa’s fallopian tubes was blocked, and fluid was flowing back into her uterus, causing complications. Carissa underwent the removal of her tubes, and they also learned about male fertility issues affecting Dave. Carissa mentioned, “Following this discovery, the couple was advised to pursue the ICSI IVF route, where sperm is directly inserted into the embryo. Their first round of IVF resulted in a single embryo for transfer.”
However, just two weeks later, Carissa learned she was pregnant. She recounted, “Finding out I was pregnant was probably the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life, the second being holding him.” Little Oliver was born at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, weighing a healthy 6 lbs 7 oz. Due to breathing difficulties shortly after birth, the family had to spend Christmas in the hospital. Carissa shared, “He was born three weeks early and was born in blue. His oxygen dropped to 20% in 9 minutes, and then he was immediately intubated.”
“He has been worked on by nurses and doctors for three hours to stabilize. Once the boy was stable, they sent the NETS team, the Newborn Emergency Transport Service, to come and put him in their neonatal ambulance. Before he left, all I could do was touch his chin with my fingers, so the fact that I could hold him in my arms 30 hours later was nothing short of a miracle.”
Despite the challenges, the new parents are overjoyed and can’t wait to bring Oliver home when he’s strong enough. Carissa added, “Being able to hold Oliver for the first time was magical. He is currently being fed 45 ml at a time through a nasogastric tube as he does not have proper reflux. He started a nasogastric tube because they thought he had a blockage in his stomach and possibly needed surgery.”
As he continues to receive the care he needs in the NICU, the family is looking forward to celebrating Christmas once Oliver is discharged from the hospital. Carissa concluded, “We had hoped that he would be out before Christmas, but unfortunately, that did not happen. However, we take comfort in knowing that he is receiving the best possible care where he is. It is truly a miracle to see that it has worked, and we are filled with gratitude.”
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