Pregnant with twins, first-time mom, Morgan Hooten, couldn’t help but feel anxious as her due date drew near in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As if giving birth to two babies wasn’t scary enough, she had been notified her obstetrician had contracted the virus and may not be available at her delivery.

“I was overwhelmed,” recalls Morgan. “I knew the hospital was treating a lot of sick patients, and I was prepared for chaos. It was nothing like that. When the doors to the maternity unit closed, everything was quiet. We were obviously nervous, but nothing Coronvirus-related seemed relevant.”

Up until the last few weeks before she gave birth, Morgan described her pregnancy as smooth and uneventful. She had chosen Dr. Jeffrey Hatcher as her obstetrician and recalls how relaxed he was at every appointment.

“I remember reading about twins and everything that could go wrong,” said Morgan. “Whenever I’d see Dr. Hatcher, I’d bring my questions for him. My husband, Adam, and I always felt at peace when we left.”

After reaching her 37th week of pregnancy, Morgan experienced a few hurdles. Visitor restrictions were in effect so her husband could no longer accompany her to appointments, her doctor was still out sick with COVID-19 and her blood pressure was concerningly high. Obstetrician Dr. Emily Housley had taken over for Dr. Hatcher in his absence and scheduled her for an induction.

On April 3, after laboring for 16 hours, Morgan gave birth, via C-section, to two healthy baby boys — Jaxon Joseph and Jason Howard.

“Our doctors and nurses were awesome,” said Morgan. “We didn’t know what we were having, so everyone was excited and making guesses. Over the next few days, the OB staff took such great care of us. We truly enjoyed our time there, and didn’t even mind not having visitors.”

Today, Jax and Jase are growing strong, and their parents are happy to report they’re not as tired as they thought they would be.

“Life is good,” said Morgan. “We will definitely choose Margaret Mary again if more babies are in our future. I always tease Adam we’ll get twin girls next!”