“My Little Miracle”

Mother Born Prematurely Returns 23 Years Later to Give Birth to Preemie

In February 1991, Tara Holley, just 27 weeks old, was born at Memorial Hospital. Twenty-three years later, Tara gave birth to her daughter, Emily, nearly 30 weeks old. Both mother and daughter were born prematurely.

Finding strength

Though not born at Memorial, Emily was transferred to Memorial’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), who just like her mother 23 years earlier, was cared for by the nationally known neonatologist Robert White, M.D.

“It’s been hard, but I’ve been dealing with it. Emily’s my angel,” says Tara, 23, nestling her six-week-old daughter in her arms.

Life hasn’t been easy for Tara or her mother, Amanda, who lost three children, all preemies at 24 weeks gestation. Tara’s first pregnancy, her son, Nathaniel Jacob, born at 24 weeks and weighing 2 pounds, 5 ounces, in early January, died just a few days later.

Tara finds strength from her daughter, who was three pounds at birth. “She’s my little miracle. My son looks over her.”

Emily’s situation looked bleak when it was discovered just two days after birth she was unable to make a bowel movement. Physicians at a nearby hospital believed Emily might need to undergo a surgery to correct the problem, so she was transferred to a hospital in Indianapolis. Medical staff there instead administered a dye enema that triggered a bowel movement, and she has since had more regular bowel movements.

Coming home

After one week in Indianapolis, Tara asked for Emily to be transferred to Memorial’s NICU in mid-August. Shortly after arriving, Tara informed Dr. White that she was a patient of his more than 20 years earlier.

She felt relieved Dr. White has been overseeing the care of her daughter.

“He’s a great doctor,” says Tara. “It makes everything easier knowing that he’s taking care of Emily, since he and the staff took such great care of me.”

Dr. White feels privileged to provide care to a second-generation baby, something that has happened four other times at Memorial over the last 33 years.

“The best part is seeing one of our [NICU] graduates living a full, productive life, and blessed with a child of their own,” says Dr. White. “You hope for this with all of our graduates, but to get the opportunity to witness it playing out that way firsthand helps us see how important our work really is.”

Hopeful future

Tara was fearful that her second pregnancy would result in a premature birth, much like her first. Dr. White explains that there is a genetic component to prematurity in some cases, such as with Tara and her mother. “Identifying exactly what that is may give us a means of preventing some premature births in the future,” he says.

In the meantime, Emily is doing well, and could be released Friday. Tara has quickly embraced motherhood, spending every possible moment with her daughter, holding and feeding her. Emily’s grandmother, Amanda, who has experienced so much heartache as a mother, shares in her daughter’s excitement.

Says Amanda, “I’m just glad my granddaughter’s coming home.”

Tara holding her baby daughter, Emily, with her mother, Amanda.