Couple With 8 Kids & Counting Has Relied On St. Joseph Hospital Midwives
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - Two children can be a handful for many parents, but a couple in Wheat Ridge just had their eighth baby. All eight of the children arrived at the same hospital with the help of a certified nurse midwife.
Angela and Joe Dowd always knew they wanted children. Joe has even had a number in mind from the start.
"My husband teases from the very first one; right after she was born he said, 'Only 13 more to go,' " Angela said.
And with little Brogan, they're more than half way there. There's also Sophia, Marissa, Bud, Jenna, Dennis, Brie and Henry.
The Dowds have had their eight children in just 10 years.
"We've actually never duplicated a month," Angela said. "They've all been born in different months."
They were all born at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver.
"We're in an out about every 18 months," Angela said.
Every one of them was born with the help of a certified nurse midwife.
"It's been such an honor, I think, for our whole practice to be able to care for them," said Jennifer Fields, Certified Nurse Midwife at St. Joseph Hospital.
The hospital has 15 midwives who help deliver an average of 640 babies every year.
"That means being in the room with her as much as possible, rubbing their backs, helping them get out of bed, and changing positions, and maybe even getting in the tub and being able to labor in the water," Fields said.
"They let you do what you need to do and you're body knows what to do, you know, try to relax," Angela said.
Relax? That -- from a mother with eight children and six to go?
"The further up in number we go, 14 seems a little more difficult, but eight, 10, 12 kids; it's all the same at this point," Joe said.
"Maybe his number is 14, but we'll see about that. This one is still pretty fresh," Angela said.
Brogan was an early birthday present for Angela. She just celebrated her 30th birthday on Sunday.
