Pediatric surgeon with high-risk pregnancy delivers healthy baby boy at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Victoriya Staab, M.D., is used to looking after other people’s children as a pediatric surgeon and medical director of pediatric trauma at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

But the tables turned when she became pregnant with her first child and had to decide who would look after her and her little one during her pregnancy and delivery. At Jersey Shore, she knew firsthand about her colleagues’ expertise and the high-level care they provide.

“We have an outstanding team of experts that delivers the top standard of care for our patients,” Dr. Staab says. “Labor and Delivery is very family- and patient-centered and friendly. And I knew our facility has a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest-level NICU. If my baby needed any extra monitoring, or if there were any complications, we have an outstanding staff that is very well-equipped to take care of the baby close to home.”

This was especially important because Dr. Staab was at higher risk for pregnancy complications. She was age 35, and she had undergone a treatment known as uterine artery embolization for a large uterine fibroid before she became pregnant.

“This is a procedure in which pellets are placed in the vessels that feed the fibroid in order to cut off its blood supply so that it will shrink,” says Dr. Staab’s physician, Steven Morgan, M.D., FACOG, an OB/GYN affiliated with Jersey Shore. “But this can also compromise blood supply and flow to the uterus in general, which can endanger blood flow to the fetus in pregnancy. This, in turn, can raise the risk for pregnancy complications, including preterm labor and miscarriage.”

Dr. Morgan, working with his brother and practice partner, Benjamin Morgan, M.D., also an OB/GYN affiliated with Jersey Shore, closely monitored Dr. Staab throughout her pregnancy.

“She had more frequent visits, including weekly testing after 32 weeks to monitor fetal well-being,” Dr. Steven Morgan says.

Welcome to the World

Dr. Staab’s delivery went smoothly, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She and her husband, Jeffrey Staab, named him Robert — or Robbie, for short.

“I had a wonderful experience with labor, delivery and the nursing staff, with support from the NICU, which was on standby,” Dr. Staab says.

His proud parents say he’s growing fast and thriving. “Robbie is sweet-natured — very loving and cuddly,” Dr. Staab says. “We’re very fortunate.”