REXROAD — FULL VERSION

Headline:

They say you can work remotely anywhere these days—but for most of us, the NICU isn’t the first place that comes to mind

When Clare and Ian Rexroad went in for an ultrasound at 13 weeks, they got shocking news: triplets. “I think in the first few minutes I was laughing hysterically and crying back and forth,” Clare recalls. “It was a very surreal experience. Triplets never cross your mind—ever.”

For a triplet pregnancy, it was relatively uneventful. She had weekly doctor appointments because of the risks that can come with having triplets, but by week 19, things were good, and the couple prepared for what lay ahead (for Ian that meant selling his beloved car to buy a minivan).

Then, around 24 weeks, Clare woke in the middle of the night with unusual pain. She knew something was wrong and rushed to the hospital. “Especially with a triplet pregnancy, they say, don't take any chances: call, go to the hospital, do what you need to be seen,” she says.

She was kept overnight for observation, and after about a day and a half—Thanksgiving Day—Ian was able to go home for a shower and nap. Clare’s mom, dad, and sister were there to keep her company. But while he was gone, Clare’s pain increased: “My doctor came in to do one last check before she left to go have Thanksgiving with her family. And she checked my cervix and said: ‘These babies are coming out.’”

Clare’s dad called Ian, and he rushed back just in time. Eliza was born first via emergency Cesarean birth with Ruth and Henry shortly after. Henry weight 2 pounds, 1 ounce. Eliza and Ruth weighted 1 pound, 14 ounces.

“A lot of people can say that the day their kids were born was the best day of their lives—but for me it was one of the scariest,” Clare says. Despite the risks that come with an early birth, all three babies had remarkably few complications, other than being incredibly small and needing oxygen support.

In the NICU, the girls were in one room and Henry in another because three babies couldn’t fit together with all the equipment that was needed. And so began the family’s NICU journey.

A major stressor for Clare during and after her pregnancy (on top of worrying about her babies’ survival) was maternity leave. In 2018, only four states offered paid maternity leave, and Ohio wasn’t one of them—“so that made it feel like you had to save every hour,” Clare says. “Every doctor's appointment was hard because I was like, ‘oh, this is an hour that I won't get of maternity leave later on.’ So that was stressful and emotional.”

Clare and Ian both worked from the NICU. They’d bring their computers in every day and set up telework stations on their little tables. “I worked almost as soon as they were born for two months because I knew I wanted to have time with them when they came home,” she says. “I didn't really have a choice.”

It’s unacceptable that the U.S. is still the only industrialized nation with no paid family leave. That’s why March of Dimes advocates for paid leave for all families across the country. Moms like Clare deserve better.

“It’s so important that March of Dimes advocates for maternity leave, as well for fathers, to ease that burden,” Clare says. “So that you can spend the critical, important time with your kids when they come home from the hospital. And work shouldn't interfere with that.”

But the Rexroad family story doesn’t end there.

In January 2018, Eliza and Henry successfully weaned to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which delivers constant air pressure into a baby's nose through a set of nasal prongs or through a small mask that fits snugly over a baby’s nose. However, Ruth started requiring more oxygen. Then an X-ray showed that she had developed pneumonia.

On February 1, Clare and Ian received the worst phone call of their lives: they needed to get to the hospital immediately because things weren’t looking good for Ruth. “[The doctor] had determined that she wasn’t going to make it, and so we sat with her and held her together,” Clare says. “It was the worst day of my life.”

Henry and Eliza continued to battle in the NICU while their parents grieved the loss of their sister. “We'd started to identify as triplet parents, getting used to what it was going to be when they were two, when they're five, when they're going off to college and then all those plans just suddenly changed,” Ian adds. “And it was hard.”

On March 16 they brought Eliza home, and Henry came home a week later on March 23. “It was incredible, that feeling of taking them home and walking out of the hospital with them and their little bucket seats was like walking on air,” Clare says.

Fast forward to 2020: Clare and Ian were excited to find out that they were pregnant again. But unfortunately, Clare had a miscarriage at six weeks. They kept trying, and in the summer of 2021, were pregnant again. This time, Clare had a placental abruption and their daughter, Maggie, was born via emergency Cesarean birth at 32 weeks. She weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces—"so still small and still scary but compared to last time it was a vastly different experience,” Clare says. Maggie spent two months in the NICU.

Today, Clare and Ian have three very healthy kids running around the house. “The mission of March of Dimes is so critical,” Clare emphasizes. “Our family has received direct benefit from the research that March of Dimes has done with the use of surfactant on all our children that was lifesaving for them in the NICU. Also being able to spend time home with my kids after they were born was so important and especially when you go through something like we’ve been through you need that time to heal, to grieve, to spend time with your family. Everyone deserves to be able to spend that time with their kids.”

REXROAD — SHORT VERSION

Headline:

They say you can work remotely anywhere these days—but for most of us, the NICU isn’t the first place that comes to mind

When Clare and Ian Rexroad went in for an ultrasound at 13 weeks, they got shocking news: triplets. For a triplet pregnancy, it was relatively uneventful. Clare had weekly doctor appointments because of the risks that can come with having triplets, but by week 19, things were good, and the couple prepared for what lay ahead.

Then, around 24 weeks, Clare woke in the middle of the night with unusual pain. She knew something was wrong and rushed to the hospital. She was kept overnight for observation, and after about a day and a half—Thanksgiving Day—Clare’s pain increased: “My doctor came in to do one last check before she left to go have Thanksgiving with her family. And she checked my cervix and said: ‘These babies are coming out.’”

Eliza was born first via emergency Cesarean birth with Ruth and Henry shortly after. Henry weight 2 pounds, 1 ounce. Eliza and Ruth weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces. And so began the family’s NICU journey. “A lot of people can say that the day their kids were born was the best day of their lives—but for me it was one of the scariest,” Clare says.

A major stressor for Clare during and after her pregnancy (on top of worrying about her babies’ survival) was maternity leave. Since the state of Ohio didn’t offer paid maternity leave, she and Ian both worked from the NICU. “I worked almost as soon as they were born for two months because I knew I wanted to have time with them when they came home,” Clare recalls.

It’s unacceptable that the U.S. is still the only industrialized nation with no paid family leave. That’s why March of Dimes advocates for paid leave for all families across the country. Moms like Clare deserve better. “It’s so important that March of Dimes advocates for maternity leave, as well for fathers, to ease that burden,” she says. “So that you can spend the critical, important time with your kids when they come home from the hospital.”

But the Rexroad family story doesn’t end there.

In January 2018, Eliza and Henry successfully weaned to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which delivers constant air pressure into a baby's nose through a set of nasal prongs or through a small mask that fits snugly over a baby’s nose. However, Ruth started requiring more oxygen. Then an X-ray showed that she had developed pneumonia.

Sadly, Ruth passed away on February 1. Meanwhile, Henry and Eliza continued to battle in the NICU while their parents grieved the loss of their sister.

Both Eliza and Henry were finally able to go home the following month.

Fast forward to 2020: Clare and Ian were excited to find out that they were pregnant again. But unfortunately, Clare had a miscarriage at six weeks. They kept trying, and in the summer of 2021, were pregnant again. This time, Clare had a placental abruption and their daughter, Maggie, was born via emergency Cesarean birth at 32 weeks. She weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and spent two months in the NICU.

Today, Clare and Ian have three very healthy kids running around the house and are grateful for the support they received from March of Dimes before, during, and after their pregnancies.