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A Mom-To-Be's Perseverance Pays Off
Dawn Simon, 40, of Brick always
wanted to be a mother. But her
journey to motherhood was laden
with heartbreaking disappointments.
It started more than 10 years ago, when
Dawn and her husband Michael first
tried to get pregnant. After encountering
trouble conceiving, Dawn's obstetrician,
Paul Vetter, M.D., who is on staff at Ocean
Medical Center, referred them to a fertility
specialist, Allen Morgan, M.D. The couple underwent testing and
finally decided to try
in vitro fertilization (IVF)
to become pregnant.
Their perseverance
paid off and they were
delighted when they
successfully conceived
in 2003. However, the
pregnancy was difficult
and they lost their first
child, Joseph, when he
was born too early to
survive. Heartbroken,
Dawn fell into a deep
depression. But with
the support of her
family and Dr. Vetter,
she decided to try IVF
treatments again. In
2005, the situation
repeated itself. Pregnant
with twins this time,
Cody and Kendall,
Dawn's water broke early
and neither survived.
Frustrated at her difficulty
in bringing a
child to full term, Dawn decided to make
some drastic changes to increase her odds
of delivering a full-term baby. Dawn was
overweight, so she had gastric bypass surgery
and increased her exercise regimen
to get stronger and fitter.
After she had lost more than 100
pounds, Dawn underwent her third round
of IVF treatments. Again the IVF worked,
and Dawn became pregnant with twins
again. This time, Dr. Vetter suggested she have a cervical cerclage placed. "I felt
that a cervical cerclage, a suture which
is placed on a pregnant woman's cervix,
could help her deliver a full-term, healthy
child," explains Dr. Vetter. "The suture
helps keep the cervix closed during pregnancy."
In addition, Dawn was put on bed
rest at 20 weeks into her pregnancy. "The
bed rest was the hardest part part of the entire
pregnancy," she recalls.
Dr. Vetter's efforts and Dawn's bed rest
were not in vain. At 36 weeks, Dawn gave
birth to two beautiful children, Michael
Richard and Madison Renee, at Ocean
Medical Center. Though this was a highrisk
birth, Dawn wanted to give birth locally
with the aid of her trusted physician,
Dr. Vetter. "Dr. Vetter is a caring physician
and was a good friend throughout this
process. He helped us every step of the
way and provided the support I needed to
not give up. I wanted him to be involved
in the delivery — to experience something
good after all the difficulties we had been
through together."
The babies are keeping Dawn very
busy, but she loves every minute of being
a mom. "I share my story so that other
women know there is hope even in the
face of obstacles and disappointments."
 – Anne Marie Keevins
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