Grateful for Every Moment

Billings Woman and her Newborn son receive Life-saving Care

A Mother’s Day approached, Alyssa Morin of Billings reflected on an unexpected birth experience that underscored the power of compassionate, team-based care at Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital. Care that she believes saved both her and her newborn son’s lives.

Morin arrived at St. Vincent late at night expecting labor but soon found herself facing a medical emergency.

“I went into the ER for shortness of breath,” Morin said. “I started panicking, immediately thinking, ‘How am I supposed to deliver this baby if I can’t breathe?’”

Morin has a history of vocal cord paralysis following thyroid surgery, a condition that can make breathing unpredictable. During her pregnancy, severe acid reflux worsened those symptoms, triggering dangerous vocal cord spasms.

“This had never happened before,” she said. “This was a pretty bad episode.”

After evaluation in the emergency department, she was admitted to the labor and delivery unit at St. Vincent. Morin’s care team quickly recognized her complex condition. Obstetrics, respiratory therapy, the intensive care unit and neonatology specialists gathered to determine the safest course of action for both mother and baby.

As her breathing worsened, Morin said her care team walked through options with her and her husband. She recalled multiple specialists consulting together at her bedside. “They were talking about what would be the best way to deliver the baby while keeping me safe and able to breathe,” Morin said.

Ultimately, Morin said she trusted the team’s collective judgment. “I was like, ‘Do whatever you need to do.’”

As Morin’s oxygen levels dropped, physicians determined the safest path forward was to sedate and intubate her. While under sedation in the ICU, her labor was induced, and she delivered her son vaginally to allow for a safer recovery given her condition.

She woke up the following day in the ICU. “The first thing I asked, writing on paper because I realized I was intubated, was, ‘Did we have a boy?’” she said.

Despite the complexity of the delivery, Morin’s son, Ridge, was born healthy. “He came out bright pink, crying; everybody was very excited for that,” she said.

“The delivery was great. It went very well, driven by the team dynamic,” said Chris Tanner, ICU nurse, at St. Vincent. “The labor and delivery were wonderful. They jumped in. They had a great plan. They had backups to the what-ifs, and they were prepared for those. Everyone had their parts.”

Morin credits not only the physicians overseeing her care but also the nurses who advocated for her and provided reassurance during frightening moments. “They were very calm,” she said. “They really saw me as a mom first, and I was so appreciative of that.” ICU physician, Dr. Woody Jones, reflected on how unique the event was and shared his appreciation for the caregivers who took care of Morin and her child.

“Witnessing a new life being brought into the world in the ICU, where we frequently witness sadness and grieving in difficult situations, was a true boost in morale,” he said. “The teamwork I witnessed is a demonstration of why I work at St. Vincent. Our teams care about patients as well as each other. This community of physicians and caregivers is truly unique and extremely special.”

Morin said she is grateful to the teams across the hospital who came together to support her. She also expressed gratitude for clinicians who made difficult but necessary decisions to protect her safety. As a gesture of thanks, she and her family came to St. Vincent and provided lunch to the hospital to her caregivers to recognize what they did for her and her family.

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About St. Vincent Regional Hospital

Founded on our mission of compassionate care 125 years ago, St. Vincent Regional Hospital, part of Intermountain Health, has grown into one of Montana’s largest comprehensive hospitals, serving the healthcare needs of over 400,000 people in our four-state area. Continuing to respond to the needs of our community, we have been recognized as an innovator in trauma, heart, neurological and cancer care. At St. Vincent and Intermountain Health, our 12 primary care clinics, and specialty clinics in and around the Billings area, our goal is to help you live the healthiest lives possible. This also includes caring for the region's youngest patients. We opened the region's first Pediatric Intensive Care Unit staffed 24/7 by Pediatric Intensivists and the only Pediatric Surgery program serving eastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and the western Dakotas.