A Mother's Day Milestone, Thanks to Medical Advances

As mothers and children prepare to celebrate their special bonds this Mother’s Day, one Nashville mom will also mark an important milestone – the birth of her miracle baby Ari.

Alina Bogdan, the 30-year old from Romania whose Survivor’s Dream Come True pregnancy-after-ovarian-cancer story we shared last year, is gearing up to celebrate her first Mother’s Day and her son’s one-year birthday. Baby Ari was born May 27, 2014, after gynecologic oncologist Nicholas Lambrou, M.D., medical director of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at South Miami Hospital, performed fertility-saving, robot-assisted surgery to treat ovarian cancer that afflicted Ms. Bogdan five years ago.

With a dream of one day having children, Alina’s sister Ramona offered to help by donating her eggs. Through in vitro fertilization, Alina and husband Avi were able to have a healthy baby boy, delivered by Richard Petersen, M.D., an obstetrician affiliated with South Miami Hospital’s Center for Women & Infants. According to mom, the three letters of baby Ari’s name represent the first initial of each biological parent – Ari, Ramona and Ina (nickname for Alina).

Last fall, Alina and her family relocated from the Cayman Islands to Nashville, where she says she’s “been feeling great” and is preparing to expand her family, hoping to get pregnant sometime this summer.

“Baby Ari has been the biggest blessing, and every day with him is the best day,” Ms. Bogden said. “I am so happy to be a mother after fighting for everything to make it happen. Thanks to my doctors and everyone who cared for us, we are ready and excited for baby number two.”

Other stories about advanced treatments for OB/GYN conditions covered in this blog include: