Springtime usually brings blooming flowers, leaves and green grass—all signs of new beginnings. For Megan and Adam Matson, the spring of 2021 also brought the arrival of not one, but two new babies. The Matsons are now a family of six, which includes twin babies, Cole and Claire, Lincoln, 6, and Adam’s son and Megan’s stepson, Colin, 15.
Growing their family to six wasn’t an easy journey. Megan’s first pregnancy didn’t happen overnight. After a year of trying without success, Megan sought additional medical help and switched her care to Jennifer Nemunaitis-Keller, MD, who at the time was a physician at a hospital in Anderson, Ind.
“Dr. Nemunaitis had a different approach than my previous doctor,” Megan said. “I could tell she was really proactive when it came to my pregnancy concerns, and all her guidance is what I believe ultimately helped me get pregnant with my son, Lincoln.”
Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller recalls Megan’s situation and the path she took to get pregnant.
“Megan and Adam consulted with me in November 2013 after having attempted pregnancy for a year,” Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller said. “Some initial testing included blood work, semen analysis and a hysterosalpingogram, which is a dye test performed in radiology to see if the fallopian tubes are open. We then tried some ovulation induction medications for a few months. This route did not work for them, so she was referred to an infertility specialist in Indianapolis.”
After one round of in vitro fertilization (IVF), and with the guidance of Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller, Megan was able to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy baby boy, Lincoln, on July 16, 2015.
“The whole process of IVF is a lot to go through,” Megan said. “There are so many emotions and ups and downs. So, after having Lincoln, we were prepared to be done having kids.”
In 2019, Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller joined Riverview Health Physicians OB/GYN in Noblesville. Even though it was farther away, and she didn’t plan on having more children, Megan decided to follow Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller to her new practice. Little did Megan know her plans would soon change—twofold—the following year.
“I ended up taking an at-home pregnancy test,” Megan said. “When it came back positive, I didn’t really believe it. Not until bloodwork and the first ultrasound confirmed my pregnancy the following week did it actually become real for me.”
Megan and Adam were so sure they were done having kids that they already had future travel plans lined up. Now, Megan was seven weeks pregnant and about to find out they’d be welcoming twins. Both Megan, an emergency room nurse, and Adam, a paramedic, are quite familiar with the clinical world, so even before the ultrasound technician broke the big news, they knew from looking at the screen—they’d be expecting double the joy.
Once the shock of the baby news and then finding out they were having twins sunk in, Megan focused on having a healthy pregnancy.
“With a twin pregnancy, the first thing to establish is if the babies have their own gestational sacs and their own placentas,” Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller said. “This can be readily seen by ultrasound late in the first trimester or early second trimester. This determines how high-risk they are.”
Although twin pregnancies alone are considered high-risk, Megan’s case was straightforward, as each baby had its own gestational sac and placenta. Other than elevated blood pressure and a little bleeding at 24 weeks, she recalls her pregnancy being fairly smooth.
“I often offer to refer my twin pregnancies to maternal-fetal medicine for their anatomy ultrasound at 20 weeks,” Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller said. “Twins do carry a slightly higher risk of birth defects. After that we follow the babies' growth in the office with ultrasounds every three to four weeks. We add twice weekly non-stress tests around 32 weeks gestation, which monitors the babies' heart rates for 30 minutes to make sure there are no signs of distress.”
Megan continued to stay positive as her baby bump continued to grow and movement became a little more physically challenging.
“The hardest part of the pregnancy was having to go on bed rest for more than two months,” Megan said. “It isn’t easy to do when you also have another little kid at home.”
Although the goal was to keep Megan from delivering too early, a twin delivery is typically recommended by 37 weeks gestation because twin pregnancies are more prone to growth restriction, Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller said.
With the relationship she had already built with Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller during her first pregnancy, and the security of having a level II special care nursery at Riverview Health Maternity Center, Megan knew she was in good hands. Luckily, both babies were in the right position—heads down by 20 weeks—so the plan was to wait as long as possible and to deliver vaginally at Riverview Health.
At Megan’s routine non-stress test around 34 weeks, Dr. Nemunaitis-Keller recommended she be admitted to the maternity center for additional monitoring because she noticed some contractions. The first few days included procedures to help slow down the labor and administering steroid shots to help the development of her babies’ lungs. By night three, the contractions were in full gear
On the evening of April 22, 2021, Megan and Adam welcomed two healthy, fraternal twins—Cole and Claire. Their son and daughter came into the world seven minutes apart, with just a handful of pushes and no complications. The labor may have been smooth sailing, but the energy in the room was action-packed.
“There were two doctors and two nurses for each baby and a surgery technician just in case. This was in addition to the clinical team that was there for me,” Megan said. “The room was full, but everyone was fantastic. Everyone was cheering me on, and all the nurses kept calling me a rock star. They were taking our phones to help with pictures once both babies were out. It was all such an amazing experience.”
At just shy of 36 weeks, Cole and Claire were considered premature, so they spent one week in the level II special care nursery at Riverview Health. After being discharged, Megan was able to stay overnight with her babies and was given a room at the Maternity Center so she could be close to them.
“It was like staying in a hotel, which was great,” Megan said. “And the week in the special care nursery actually really helped get the babies on a good schedule that we’ve tried to stick to at home.”
While the Matsons seem to have settled in nicely with their two new additions, they made sure not to get too settled. As if adjusting to twins wasn’t challenging enough—they also bought a new home.
“Our realtor actually called me in the middle of labor to let us know the offer we had put in on our new house was accepted,” Megan said with a chuckle.
It may not have been planned out, but with two new babies and a new home, 2021 has been a year of new beginnings for the Matsons.
Our doctors are experienced in helping mothers prepare for each stage of pregnancy, labor and delivery. You can request an appointment by calling 317.565.0535 or by completing an online appointment request form.
