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Mother’s unique birth experience featured in virtual event
By Northwest Florida Daily News
March 8, 2017
The Northwest Florida Daily News and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center have partnered to share one family's experience with the miracle of birth in a virtual event called "Life in the OR."
Heather Hintz holds her newborn son following a C-section that she experienced using the “First View” window at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. [Nick Tomecek/Daily News]
Heather Hintz holds her newborn son following a C-section that she experienced using the “First View” window at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. [Nick Tomecek/Daily News]
Heather and Jeffrey Hintz of Destin, the parents of three children, agreed to have their most recent child's C-section birth documented by the Daily News. Heather believes the experience is worth sharing with others.
"I hope this brings more awareness to bonding with your newborn," she said.
Heather said she missed having the skin-to-skin contact with her first two children following their C-section deliveries. She decided to use Fort Walton Beach Medical Center's "First View" to watch the birth of her third child. The window provided Heather a glimpse for both her and Jeffrey to watch as their son was born and then have immediate skin-to-skin contact with the baby.
Dr. Michael Hennessey, who delivered the Hintz's son, intends to make "First View" a standard part of his practice for C-section patients.
"This was just so unbelievably easy to provide, once we found the pieces," Hennessey said. "It was just perfect. And I know the mother thought it was perfect, even though it was a very small thing to do.
Daily News Publisher Diane Winnemuller also was excited about the opportunity to share this moment with readers.
"These events not only highlight the medical center and physicians, but also helps our readers make informed decisions about their healthcare choices here in the greater Fort Walton Beach area," said Winnemuller.
The Northwest Florida Daily News' digital traffic exceeds more than 9 million page views per month and Winnemuller is confident that this event will have interest to readers.
"The idea of virtual events like 'Life in the OR' was something I knew our readers were hungry for, so diving into the venture was an easy decision," she said. "It is our intention to conduct more virtual surgeries such as robotics, cardiac, and virtually any procedure where the patient may have anxiety or a need to see for themselves how a surgeon, medical center and operating room team functions when performing a certain procedure. "
"Life in the OR" will air Heather's C-section online at nwfdailynews/OR on March 16.
Readers can visit that page now for preview videos with Heather and Dr. Hennessey, and learn more about the procedure and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, as the countdown to the virtual event continues.