One-in-a-million mom

Women who are fraternal twins are 2.5 times more likely to have twins than women who are not. Just ask Lusi Kauvaka. Herself a twin, she gave birth to two more sets of twins.

“The odds of that happening are one in a million,” said Keith Ogasawara, MD, Kauvaka’s perinatologist at Kaiser Permanente’s Moanalua Medical Center in Honolulu.

Thanks to Dr. Ogasawara, Lusi Kauvaka’s twins are happy and healthy.

“She came in with abdominal pain, and I had a feeling that this was an atypical presentation of cholestasis of pregnancy,” a liver condition usually characterized by intense itching and associated with a high risk of stillbirth. “Luckily,” he said, “we were able to diagnose it, and she was able to have a successful pregnancy.”

The excellent care Dr. Ogasawara gave Kauvaka exemplifies Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to healthy beginnings.

• Some 116,000 babies are born at Kaiser Permanente each year.
• Moms and babies receive care from highly skilled teams including obstetricians, neonatologists, anesthesiologists, midwives, nurses, pediatricians, social workers, and lactation consultants.
• Prenatal classes help moms and dads prepare for every aspect of parenting — from pregnancy and childbirth to breastfeeding and infant care.
• More than 75 percent of babies born at Kaiser Permanente are exclusively breastfed during their hospital stay, reducing their risk of conditions such as asthma, ear infections, and eczema.

Learn more about maternity care at Kaiser Permanente.