A Lifeline for Moms: Chapter 2 – A Life Worth Celebrating

ARLINGTON, Texas – In 2024, Yvette Ngo and Thomas Ngo, of Arlington, faced a complicated childbirth and a tough diagnosis for their daughter Zoey.

During Yvette’s 20-week checkup, physicians at Baylor, Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth found abnormalities in Zoey’s anatomy scan. 

Zoey was diagnosed with a birth defect called Trisomy 13 also known as Patau Syndrome.  Trisomy 13 is a rare genetic disorder caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 13. There is no cure for Trisomy 13 and most babies do not survive their first year of life.  

“As a family, we really had to make hard decisions,” Yvette said. 

To give the Ngo’s the best chance at meeting Zoey alive, their physicians recommended iron supplements to reduce the chances of Yvette having anemia. Anemia, a low blood count, could lead to a Severe Obstetric Complication (SOC) during birth and require a blood transfusion putting Yvette and Zoey at risk of death.  

For women experiencing high-risk pregnancies like Yvette, access to clinical and support resources are crucial for a pregnant woman and infant’s survival.  She would also need a healthcare team with simulations and management training for Zoey’s complicated birth.  

Pregnant women in Fort Worth and Tarrant County have significantly higher rates of high-risk pregnancy indicators like anemia, which disproportionately affect women of color, and lead to SOCs during birth, according to the 2018 Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force and Department of State Health Services Joint Biennial Report.  

Connecting with moms early in their pregnancies and getting them resources for complicated births is something the newly formed Maternal Health Accelerator (MHA) is making available for all pregnant women in North Texas.  

The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University and UT Southwestern Medical Center joined to form the MHA and are leading a population health research study to provide free over-the-counter iron supplements to pregnant women and reduce SOCs in North Texas by 20% over a three-year period.  

Giving pregnant women an iron supplement a day can increase their blood count to a point where they are not as anemic or they won’t be anemic at all, said Stuart D. Flynn, M.D., Founding Dean of Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and Lead Principal Investigator (PI) of the research study.  

“What that translates into is when they bleed, they have a blood reservoir, so we don’t need to transfuse them,” Flynn said. 

Blood transfusions represent about 70% of SOCs in North Texas, said David B. Nelson, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division Chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UT Southwestern, Medical Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Parkland Health, and MFM Strategy Clinical Director, at Children’s Health and Co-principal Investigator of the research study.  

By using and distributing the iron supplements in our communities, “we’re able to reduce anemia in pregnant individuals and also have them have a delivery that’s safe,” Dr. Nelson said. 

MHA is also creating standardized provider training to improve obstetric emergency outcomes during delivery and working on region-wide implementation of hemorrhage simulation training and standardized SOC documentation protocols across all partner hospital systems. 

Yvette was able to tap into those types of resources to help with Zoey’s complicated birth.  

Zoey was born safely on April 18, 2024. Although she only lived for 36 hours, the Ngos were able to say goodbye to the newborn and take family photos. 

“We knew we wanted to do comfort care and just hold her and spend as much time as we could with her,” Yvette said. “No matter how long or short you have – even one day – it’s still a life worth celebrating.”