“I still have nightmares”: Jana Pittman reflects on the premature arrival of her twins

Olympian and former SAS Australia star, Jana Pittman and her husband Paul Gatward welcomed twins on March 22, 2022.

Reflecting on her incredible birth story after her boy-girl twins, Quinlan and Willow, arrived almost six weeks early, Jana says, “I was absolutely not prepared”.

The mum-of-six and doctor says she believed she would go into labour later than she did.

“Obviously, I work in the field of women’s health so I’m aware that twins often do come early but having had four pregnancies go to full term, I thought I’d at least get to 37 weeks. It was definitely a surprise,” she explains.

“I drove myself to the hospital when I was having contractions thinking it was nothing. I’d actually had a fall that morning so I wanted to be triple checked that there wasn’t anything going on and it turned out it was labour.”

Jana was 34 weeks pregnant when she went into labour and welcomed her twins almost six weeks prematurely. She admits it was a difficult time.

“I still have nightmares about that period and feel discomfort because I wasn’t expecting it. I thought at 34 weeks they would be robust and able to come home with me almost straightaway. It was hard.

“My babies were 2.6 and 2.8 kilograms when they were born so a very good size but they had a lot of problems with their glucose and dropped their sugars really quickly,” she says.

“They needed breathing support and lost weight quickly in the first few days and they had quite a lot of jaundice.”

Jana is a big fan of ‘kangaroo care’, when you hold your baby to your bare chest so your baby has direct skin-to-skin contact with you.

“Initially when they had jaundice, I wasn’t able to do as much as I wanted to but then you couldn’t get them off me,” says the former Olympic athlete.

“I’d lay there in the special care nursery with them on on my chest the whole time, as much as I could, to increase the body warmth, to help with my breast milk, to help with their body temperature regulation and their weight gain and even just stabilising their heart rate.

“It’s wonderful when the midwives and the special care nurses really encourage it and try to get families competent in the touch of their babies because even as adults we like to be touched.”

Each year, more than 48,000 babies require specialised care – programs and initiatives like those run by Miracle Babies Foundation and its partners like WaterWipes provide much-needed support and resources to families during this incredibly difficult time.

Miracle Month of May is a time to highlight the work of Miracle Babies supporting premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals who care for them. As well as the stories of Australia’s littlest miracles.

Speaking of her partnership with Miracle Babies, Jana says, “I’ve been working with WaterWipes who suggested I get involved with the Miracle Babies Foundation to help raise more money, more awareness and hopefully get some support for those families going through that difficult time.”

Celebrating their first birthday in March 2023, Quinlan and Willow are happy and healthy and love playing with their older brother Charlie, two, and sisters Emily, seven, and Jemima, six.

Jana’s eldest child, Cornelis, 16, from her first marriage to former coach Chris Rawlinson, also loves helping out with his younger brothers and sisters.

Kangaroo-a-thon

• A campaign to raise awareness of the importance of skin-to-skin contact aka kangaroo care by encouraging all NICU and SCN units to promote skin-to-skin cuddles. This year over 35 hospital locations from around Australia are participating.
• The unit that records the highest number of hours of life-saving care over a two-week period will be awarded a Kangaroo Care chair, generously funded and provided by WaterWipes.

Quadruple Giving Day

• In 2023, Quadruple Giving Day will be on Tuesday, May 23rd. Thanks to matching donors like WaterWipes, funds are quadrupled, meaning that every $1 donated becomes $4. Donations are used to support Miracle Babies Foundation’s NutureProgram, which supports families throughout their difficult hospital journey and even after leaving the hospital.
• In 2023, Miracle Babies and matching donors like WaterWipes aims to raise over $120,000 to support families throughout their hospital journey and beyond. Just $143 can provide support to one family throughout their entire hospital journey. This includes support via:

• • 24-Hour Family Support Line (NurtureLine)
  • In-Hospital peer support (NurtureTime)
  • Online Information Hub
  • Resources provided throughout their baby’s hospital stay