If ever there is a time to surrender and trust the process in life, it’s during pregnancy. But it’s not easy—especially during long, complicated or early labors. It is a vulnerable time for expectant mothers, filled with lessons on trust, inner strength, focus and the critical need for a reliable, dedicated and talented support team.
Expectant moms can rely on the labor and delivery team at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. The hospital has been designated by the Joint Commission as a Maternal Level of Care III hospital—meaning that Torrance Memorial provides exemplary care for complex maternal, fetal and obstetric conditions and has in-house specialists and intensive care.
New moms rave about Torrance Memorial’s highly qualified and dedicated physicians, labor and delivery nursing staff and devoted neonatal nurses—all trained in the latest technology and innovative approaches. They prioritize comfort, support and unparalleled care for mom, baby and the entire family.
“I don’t know what I would have done without the doctors at Torrance Memorial. They were remarkable! And I can’t say enough good things about the amazing labor and delivery and NICU nurses,” says Christina Smith, new mom of Isabella, who arrived seven weeks early on August 12, 2025, and stayed four weeks in the Level III Neonatal Care Unit (NICU).
Christina and Matthew Smith, hold baby Isabella , who arrived seven weeks prior to her due date.
An Observant Care Team
Christina’s pregnancy had been “perfect,” she shares. She had no morning sickness and no problems handling her job as an executive for a TV show, requiring long hours on set. She felt so good that she walked 4.5 miles a day as well.
But at 29 weeks, with no prior symptoms, Christina’s blood pressure rose. She began monitoring it at home. When her blood pressure read above “178 over something,” Christina called Natalie Thorpe, Torrance Memorial clinical nursing director of Maternal Child Health Services.
“I was surprised when Natalie told me to go to L&D immediately. I was given blood pressure medication, and it came down overnight,” explains Christina.
A few weeks later, she told Matthew, her husband, that something was off. They checked, and her blood pressure was high again. She took blood pressure medication, then went to the hospital.
At Torrance Memorial her reading was normal. Instead of sending her home, however, in an abundance of caution Aviv Herzlich, MD, decided to keep Christina overnight, saying, “Something is telling me not to let you go home tonight. If you’re fine in the morning, you can go then.”
High blood pressure during pregnancy is linked to preeclampsia, a severe condition that can risk both the mother’s and the baby’s lives. Giving birth seven or eight weeks premature is not ideal, but with today’s medical advances in neonatal care, it can be done safely.
Dr. Herzlich’s hunch proved correct. In the middle of the night Christina’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and she was put on magnesium to level it out.
When her obstetrician, Zachary Abelson, MD, came in that morning, he gave Christina the news that she would not be going back to work. “He said, ‘Oh, you’re not leaving until you have this baby. We’re going to try to get you to 34 weeks first.’ I was in shock, but then realized if I had been home when my blood pressure skyrocketed in my sleep, who knows what could have happened,” she says.
Under the care of Dr. Abelson, as well as obstetrician Ricardo Huete, MD, and Vikas Sacher, MD, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies, Christina was given blood pressure medication three times a day and steroids to strengthen baby Isabella’s lungs.
“Dr. Abelson said I had one of the most severe preeclampsia cases he has seen. It rose so high, I had an emergency C-section,” Christina says. “Thankfully Isabella was just fine. Her heart rate and breathing were unaffected.”
Putting New Parents at Ease
Tiny Isabella was cared for by Torrance Memorial’s NICU nurses, who have years of experience and a reputation for dedication and compassion. During the four weeks of NICU care, nurses also educated both mom and dad on how to care for their preemie.
“It was stressful to have our baby there every day, but the nurses gave us tips and tricks we wouldn’t have learned on our own, like how to bathe, swaddle and handle her because she was so small,” Christina explains. “They also showed us how often to do skin-to-skin touch, how to hold her, how to feed her and how to get the calculations for feeding. They helped us put Isabella on a feeding and sleep schedule. At four months she was nearly sleeping through the night. I attribute this to the nurses and therapists who worked with her.”
When Christina and Isabella returned to Torrance Memorial for its annual reunion Halloween party, she said it felt like returning to visit family members because starting a family should be in the care of those who feel like home.
