Mom and her twin babies get graduation ceremonies

When Sarah Tov was getting ready to welcome twin babies with her partner, iea tov, she wasn’t sure she would be able to defend her dissertation in time or walk at her doctorate graduation .

The 37-year-old had been working toward her Ph.D. in special education and disability studies at the University of Washington for the last seven years and her studies were wrapping up in May.

At first, the married couple thought they would have time for Sarah Tov to finish her degree program before giving birth. The twins were conceived through a shared IVF process with iea tov’s eggs and donor sperm from a close friend.

“We thought … we'd be able to celebrate Sarah's graduation and then the babies would come later in June. But then when we found out it was twins,” iea tov, who uses zey and zem pronouns and spells zeir name with all lowercase letters, told “Good Morning America.”

Then, near the end of Sarah Tov’s pregnancy, she developed high blood pressure and other complications and had to be admitted to the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Birth Center in Seattle. Eventually, the twins were delivered prematurely via C-section on May 10 at 33 weeks and 6 days.

Despite all the unexpected developments, iea tov credits the Virginia Mason doctors, nurses and staff for helping to mark such momentous milestones with joy and care.

“The care team at the [obstetrician] clinic to the labor and delivery department were just really amazing in terms of how much they cared for us,” iea tov said, adding, “It became a lot more beautiful of a celebration than what Sarah thought was gonna happen.”

Sarah Tov defended her dissertation on May 7 and delivered on May 10. After the babies were born, the Virginia Mason staff set up a special graduation ceremony for her.

“They really took it to the next level,” Sarah Tov recalled. “One of the nurses made confetti from scratch. The [OB-GYN] brought a cake. Someone made a sign. There was a whole decoration. Another nurse played the graduation song as I walked.”

Dr. Leizl Sapico, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Virginia Mason and who delivered the twins, said getting to celebrate her patient’s achievements was nothing short of special.

“I was just so proud of her,” Sapico said. “To be able to celebrate and find joy, knowing that the circumstances for when these babies were born was a scary time but we all wanted to make sure that Sarah still got to celebrate this great achievement that she had. And so, it was very touching to be there.”

Sapico said she views the Tovs as family now: “It's something that you don't forget. This is one of those things that gets to go in my memory journal.”

And when Zayit Zohar and Simcha, who are identical twins, were able to be discharged from the NICU on June 7, the Virginia Mason staff threw them their very own graduations too.

“They are just strong, little babies,” Sapico said.

The Tov family is now back home together and the parents said they are grateful for the Virginia Mason staff.

“As part of the LGBTQ experience, health care is not always the most kind to being seen and celebrated and honored and heard, and throughout this process of becoming parents, we have just been so fortunate and lucky to have different health care models and spaces that have done their work to really be inclusive, and not just inclusive, but embracing,” iea tov said.