Mom Welcomes Twin Babies Early and Gets Her Ph.D. — and After She Got a Special Graduation Ceremony, Her Kids Did Too

• Couple Sarah Tov and iea tov originally expected their twins to arrive in June – about a month after Sarah finished her Ph.D. studies
• Sarah and the babies were honored with a graduation ceremony at the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Birth Center in Seattle
• “I also often joke that I had three brains working on my dissertation, so they should rightfully be recognized as part of my PhD,” Sarah tells PEOPLE about the baby ceremony

A woman who gave birth to twins and then got her doctorate. feels on top of the world!

Last month, Sarah Tov, 37, was a pregnant University of Washington student finishing her seven years of work toward a degree in special education and disability studies. Then she experienced health complications and was admitted to Seattle’s Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Birth Center, and a few days later gave birth to identical twins, who then spent four weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Today, Sarah and her partner iea tov (who uses the pronouns “zem” and “zey” and lowercases the zeir name) are back at their home in Seattle with their babies after being recently discharged.

“They’re doing great,” Sarah tells PEOPLE of the newborns. “They’re putting on weight, they’re starting to open their eyes more. They’re doing really well considering everything they’ve been through.”

Married since 2021, Sarah and iea, also 37, initially expected the twins — who were conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) — to arrive in June, about a month after Sarah would have finished her degree.

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“[It] it was super cold for a twin pregnancy until the end of the 32nd week,” recalls iea. “And it wasn’t cold after that.”

On May 6, Sarah had high blood pressure and went to Virginia Mason, “They just kept a close eye on us,” she says. “Coordinated care at Virginia Mason was truly amazing. They were in communication with each other on all sides and also made sure to give us all the information we needed to make informed decisions.”

The next afternoon, May 7th, Sarah and iea came home from the hospital and Sarah changed and took a nap. She then defended her dissertation – which she had originally planned to do in person – in front of the committee via Zoom later that day.

On May 10, Sarah was readmitted to Virginia Mason, where the couple’s twin babies were born prematurely by C-section that afternoon. What made this experience unique for Sarah and Ie was that Virginia Mason had postpartum rooms, allowing parents to stay overnight with their babies in intensive care. Apart from occasional visits to their home to check on the dog and run some errands, Sarah and iea were with their children every night at the facility.

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“Once the babies were stabilized and off oxygen, they were moved to our monitor room,” iea says. “And then when Sarah was discharged, she was discharged to a room, and we lived in that room for four weeks. Sarah slept on the hospital bed and I slept on the couch.”

Sarah Tov and Iea tov twins.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

Sarah and iea praised Dr. Leizla Sapico, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Virginia Mason, who cared for the twins, as well as the facility’s staff.

“We wanted to make sure that we prioritized experience and support for multiple pregnancy,” says Sarah, “and then support for LGBTQ+ families. We know a lot of families who haven’t had positive experiences in maternity hospitals and hospitals. And so that kind of concern was really for us. important, it was phenomenal, and the team was super phenomenal.”

iea tov and Sarah Tov with their children surrounded by Virginia Mason staff.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

“Cause of [Virginia Mason’s] NICU model, we felt a stronger bond with our babies, built close relationships with the staff, and had a much easier transition home,” says iea. “Additionally, Sarah was able to heal faster because we didn’t have to shuttle between home and the NICU, and that alleviated a significant amount of the stress and trauma associated with a complicated birth and NICU stay.”

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Sapico said, “We want patients to know that our birth center is a safe place to have their baby and that they will have a team of experts who will listen, advocate and involve patients in the decision-making process. We also want to create an atmosphere where staff would want to come and work, and we have that here.”

The graduation ceremony at the University of Washington College of Education near Sara was scheduled for June 4. However, since the twins were still in intensive care the week it started, Sarah decided to have her advisor, an associate professor at the university, stop by Virginia Mason and congratulate her instead.

(LR) iea tov and Sarah Tov with their twins.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

However, iea has prepared a surprise for Sara. “It was strange to let seven years of super hard work and unexpected twists pass with recognition,” says iea. “So I wanted to do something. I knew it [the facility staff] it would be good if people would go and say, ‘Hey, let’s actually make this more of a thing,’ instead of just her advisor coming in and turning Sarah around.”

Together. iea and Virginia Mason staff coordinated a surprise graduation ceremony for Sarah at the institution. One nurse used a hole punch to make confetti, while another made a Sarah poster. Sapico also brought a cake.

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“They made a room for us,” says iea. “And so we will walk to this other room, just to get out of ours [postpartum] the room we were in for almost three weeks. We were walking around and Sarah said, ‘Wait, where are we going?’ We kept walking and then she saw everything.”

iea tov and Sarah Tov’s twin babies.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

“It was really fun to be able to make that moment as special as possible with a team of nurses who just love and support us,” adds iea. “One of the nurses made a card with footprints signed by the babies celebrating those achievements. So it was a really wonderful moment for everyone together.”

Sarah, whose story he previously reported Good morning America, was not the only member of the Tov family to be honored with a special graduation ceremony. When the babies were set to be discharged from Virginia Mason on June 7, the facility’s staff celebrated the children, who were dressed in cute prom dresses, with their own initiation.

Sarah Tov with her twin children.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

“We knew they were going to be born around the time of my graduation, so we got them a little prom dress that they wore to my little graduation ceremony,” says Sarah. “And then they also had to wear those cute dresses for their kindergarten graduation. I also often joke that I had three brains working on my dissertation, so they should rightfully be recognized as part of my Ph.D.”

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Sarah says the couple’s experience at Virginia Mason, especially their interactions with the staff, prepared them for when they finally returned home with their babies.

“We already had routines,” says Sarah. “It was the first time that iea and I were able to be just us and the babies. It was a very important moment to just be together… and not have our monitors beeping all day, and for the babies to be wireless, to we can carry them from room to room so that they are next to each other.”

“The [Virginia Mason] the staff really focused on us as baby experts,” adds iea. “If we said these things were happening, they would hear it and then look at it. And so it was like a holistic partnership in terms of the care that not only Sarah received, but the baby as well during her stay.”

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Source: HIS Education