Trang's Birth Story - A Leap Day Baby

Trang Wong was eagerly looking forward to her baby’s March 5 delivery because she had great confidence in her doctor and neighbor, Dr. April Sandifer, and North Oaks Medical Center.

But, when baby Clara Anne decided to arrive early Feb. 29 – Leap Day – Dr. Sandifer was on a family vacation in Colorado and not due to return until March 2.

“Dr. Sandifer was expecting to be back, and kept checking to make sure I hadn’t gone into labor while she was away. She really wanted to be there,” Trang shares, adding that Dr. Sandifer had delivered her son, John Van, six years earlier. Although John Van’s cesarean delivery was not what Trang had envisioned, she credits Dr. Sandifer for turning a startling experience into a positive one.

“Dr. Sandifer reassured me everything was going to be OK, and I was very surprised at how relaxed it all was,” Trang adds. “She was very calming, funny and comical.”

Because of the experience with John Van, she was hoping Dr. Sandifer’s comforting and easygoing manner would also create a stress-free environment for Clara’s delivery. But with Dr. Sandifer away, Dr. Marya Porter, her colleague at Magnolia Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinic, “took over and she was amazing!”

Following about six hours of labor, Dr. Porter delivered Clara as a vaginal birth after cesarean or VBAC.

Trang’s husband, local restaurateur Jonathan Wong, agreed the experience was a positive one.

“He said it was like having a symphony in the room because of how calming it was,” Trang explains. “It was a very zen-like atmosphere.”

In fact, the entire Labor and Delivery Unit has been “phenomenal,” she adds. “The times I have been on the unit I’ve been well taken care of. I’ve gotten so much attention. I don’t understand why anyone would consider another hospital when we have North Oaks in Hammond.”