Woman Beats High-Risk Pregnancy Odds

The birth of a baby is one of the most joyful experiences in life, but when the mother's pregnancy is considered high-risk it could add unwanted stress during what should be a time of celebration.

Billie Jean Grace of Hopkinsville, Ky. was told she couldn't have children because of a heart defect.

"I was born with a transposition of the great vessels, just meaning that the blood flow in the heart is opposite. They call it the backwards heart," Grace said.

Grace beat the odds twice by delivering two children while considered high-risk.

Her daughter Gillian Taylor is not 6 and her son Brayton is 3 months old. Both kids are healthy, happy, and somewhat of a miracle.

Considered high-risk during her pregnancy, Grace began having complications, shortness of breath and chest pains at 32 weeks into her pregnancy.

"We decided she was in heart failure and we wanted to medically manage her to a point where we could deliver the baby safely with the least amount of morbidity to the baby but also not have her suffer any long-term consequences," Baptist specialist Dr. Connie Graves, M.D. said.

After six days in the hospital, Brayton decided he was ready to be born.

"They came and rushed in and put me on the little stretcher and basically told me I was going in. I just remember saying 'what's wrong? What's wrong?'" Grace said.

After the baby's heart rate dropped and stayed low, Graves performed an emergency c-section.

Brayton was fine, but doctors knew Grace's heart was in jeopardy.

Graves and a team of Baptist cardiologists stabilized her heart and decided she would need another surgery. Just one month after Brayton was born, Grace was back in the operating room to receive an implanted defibrillator.

Although a slight scar might serve as a reminder of an unpredictable time in Grace's life, little Brayton served as a reminder that her heart will always work.

"That day I had him the Lord was definitely looking down on us cause everything just fell into place," Grace said.

Graves said women who have a chronic disease, genetic disease or are older than 35 are considered high-risk during pregnancy.

She urged those women to consult with their doctor before trying to conceive.