A Pennsylvania couple is eager to reunite with their newborn twins after a local hospital’s coronavirus restrictions have kept the family apart for more than a month.
Kendra Berry-Stankovich of Eagleville, Pennsylvania, gave birth to daughters Danica and Quinnlyn on Feb. 20. The babies arrived prematurely at 31 weeks.
Berry-Stankovich and husband Michael Stankovich were able to visit Danica and Quinnlyn daily at the Einstein Medical Center Montgomery’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at first, according to CBS Philly.
On March 13, however, the hospital began prohibiting visitors to its NICU as part of the facility’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“They called us and told us that we couldn’t come back, that the hospital has been on full lockdown,” Berry-Stankovich told CBS Philly. “It happened so fast. The first restriction came within the first three weeks of their life.”
“My fear is that they have forgotten us,” she added.
To be clear, Berry-Stankovich doesn’t blame the hospital for taking such measures during the pandemic, and she said the nurses “have been wonderful” when it comes to keeping in regular contact with the family via FaceTime. Still, she hopes to have her daughters safely home as soon as possible.
“They’ll be two months on Monday,” she said.
The Stankovichs are among many parents across the country who have been kept apart from their children as states have put social distancing measures in place during the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Yanira Soriano met her newborn son, Walter, for the first time outside of Southside Hospital in Bayshore, New York.
Soriano was admitted to the hospital after experiencing breathing issues. The 36-year-old, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, was put into a medically induced coma after testing positive for COVID-19.
She delivered her son on April 3 via an emergency C-section while unconscious, and was finally able to hold the baby after being discharged Wednesday.
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