Advertising life

NEW YORK—During the Olympics, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has been airing an ad in the New York City area about saving twins with a typically fatal disorder after a first doctor recommended abortion.

The mom in the black-and-white ad said she and her husband discovered she was pregnant with twins. But they found out later the babies had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), where the babies share a placenta and have an uneven blood flow. Their first doctor recommended either aborting both of the babies, or one, “Baby B.”

“I can’t imagine thinking about ending one kid’s life to save our other kid’s life,” says Celeste Fine, the mom in the ad.

“Reducing” multiple pregnancies, the medical euphemism for aborting one or more of the babies growing in the womb, is not unusual medical advice in New York City, especially when there is a medical risk to one of the babies. Aborting triplets is more common than twins, but in 2011 The New York Times found one major medical center in the city where “reduction” of twins made up 38 percent of multiple terminations.

The couple in the ad refused the initial medical advice and went to NewYork-Presbyterian for a second opinion. There, the doctors saved Baby B through “advanced laser surgery.” The mom describes the delivery in the ad.

“So Baby A comes out, and I heard the cutest gurgle, and Baby B came out a minute after,” she says, as the babies appear on screen, on her lap. “And then they were Elias and Mateen! Hey, boys.”

Reached by phone, Fine said that though she grew up Catholic, she supports a woman’s right to have an abortion. She didn’t intend the message of the ad to be pro-life.

“It’s the worst decision anyone would have to think about,” she said. “But we lucked out because of the doctors, who are amazing. … I would never want our story to be, lah-di-dah, everything is going to work out fine. ... It’s a miraculous story. There’s not a day I don’t look at those boys and thank God.”

Fine thinks what’s important for moms on both sides of the issue to understand is the importance of seeking a second opinion when a doctor gives a dire report. Especially when you’re exhausted and emotionally drained from a difficult pregnancy, she said, it’s easy to accept what doctors first tell you to do. Her first doctor told her and her husband, Marcus, “There’s nothing that can be done.”

“He said it with such confidence,” Fine remembered. “You need to go talk to someone else and see if they agree.”

The doctors at NewYork-Presbyterian were “more humble,” she said, and they took on the highly risky pregnancy. Some hospitals might not accept risky patients like her for experimental surgery because it could worsen their outcomes.

“That’s totally fine,” she said. “But I think it’s important that people know that. Sometimes doctors are conservative because they’re interested in their outcome and their research.”

The Fines went to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital every three days to see their babies’ progress—with TTTS, either of the babies could spiral into sickness at any time. The doctors did laser surgery at 18 weeks, and then the parents nervously waited for milestone after milestone to viability.

“Nobody has watched their babies grow like we watched our babies grow,” Fine said. “Unless you have gone through this process, it’s really hard to understand.”

The babies were born at 36 weeks, each over 5 pounds, and didn’t have to spend any time in neonatal intensive care.

“I’ll do anything for them,” Fine said about agreeing to do the ad for the hospital. “Not only did they save our boys, but they also made our really difficult journey clearer.”

Another NewYork-Presbyterian ad, titled “Second Opinion,” shows a clip of the mom’s story and says a second opinion “can even mean life itself.” The New York firm Seiden Advertising put together the spot.