From an Unexpected Loss to a Thriving Family

From an Unexpected Loss to a Thriving Family, Thanks to the Renowned USF Health | Tampa General Hospital Fetal Care Center

Kadian was at a holiday party, six months into what had been a normal pregnancy, when she began experiencing a worrisome sensation of deep pressure — unlike anything she had felt before. “That’s when I realized — oh my goodness, this is actually labor,” she recalls.

She raced with her husband to Tampa General Hospital, where doctors did all they could to slow the process. But it was too late for their infant son.

“The nurses surrounded us with so much love,” she says. “We got to hold him until he passed away shortly after. I thought, ‘To have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and then at 23 weeks, that’s the end.’ … I was thinking, that’s it. I don’t get to be a mom. My body can’t carry a baby.”

In that moment of profound grief, Kadian met Dr. Sarah Obican, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who would help transform her outlook. “She was at the bedside with us and she cried with us,” Kadian recollects. “I remember her saying to me, ‘I don’t want you to give up. I want to help you have a baby.’”

Dr. Obican, director of the USF Health Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division and an integral member of the nationally recognized USF Health | Tampa General Hospital Fetal Care Center, specializes in complex, high-risk pregnancies.

Through the Fetal Care Center, multidisciplinary teams bring together maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric subspecialty and advanced hospital-based expertise across Tampa General, Florida’s premier academic health system, to care for mothers and babies facing the most challenging diagnoses.

Ranked among the nation’s top hospitals for Obstetrics & Gynecology by U.S. News & World Report, Tampa General combines leading experts and advanced technology to support families like Kadian’s.

“This very special person, she gave us hope, saying, ‘I think I know what happened,’” Kadian says. At a follow-up appointment, Dr. Obican explained that Kadian likely had an incompetent cervix, a condition in which weak cervical tissue can open too early and lead to pregnancy loss.

With a clear diagnosis came a path forward.

For her next pregnancy, Kadian was referred to Dr. Emad Mikhail, a highly regarded,

minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, known for his expertise in complex cervical insufficiency and advanced surgical techniques.

Named a Master Surgeon by the Surgical Review Corporation, Dr. Mikhail has built a strong reputation for precision, innovation and consistently excellent outcomes, particularly in minimally invasive and robotic procedures.

Working in close coordination with Dr. Obican, Dr. Mikhail placed a transabdominal cerclage — a stitch in the cervix at 14 weeks — using a minimally robotic approach to help Kadian carry her baby longer. This time, she made it to 32 weeks and delivered a healthy baby girl.

Encouraged by that success, the couple continued growing their family.

Today, Kadian and her husband have a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 1½-year-old and a newborn. “I just couldn’t be happier,” she says.

“I’m very, very thankful. I want other women to know that even with a loss, even with a scary diagnosis, you can still go on to have a beautiful family.”

Especially with the help of the USF Health | Tampa General Hospital Fetal Care Center.

*Presented by Tampa General Hospital | Originally published in August 2026 of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine.