A smiling woman sits on a couch holding two newborn babies in her arms, looking down at them with warmth and care.

Side by Side in MSH’s NICU

After the early arrival of her twins, local mom Carly Edgar found double the care and support in MSH’s NICU.

A lifetime of care

For Carly Edgar, Oak Valley Health’s Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) is where her family’s story has unfolded through every stage of life. She grew up in Unionville and has always turned to MSH for care — whether it was for childhood sport injuries, surgeries, or family emergencies. That connection only deepened when she started a family of her own.

Carly and her husband, Brent, knew they wanted children, and being close to a hospital they trusted mattered. “Being just five minutes away, we could go down the road and get the care we needed for all of our pregnancies, which was really important for our family.”

Their first son, Brady, arrived in February 2023 after four days of labour, ending in a caesarean section (C-section). Then in 2024, their second son Colton was born six weeks early and spent seven days in MSH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Less than two years later, her family returned to the NICU — reuniting with many of the same nurses, this time facing a new challenge.

A sudden delivery

In 2025, Carly became pregnant with twins. Her pregnancy was progressing well until late one evening in her third trimester, when she began bleeding. Concerned, Carly drove herself to the Emergency Department at 30 weeks pregnant and she was admitted under the care of Dr. Gita Singh, Oak Valley Health Obstetrician/Gynaecologist.

“I remember asking if I was going to die because I was bleeding so much,” Carly says. “I was so scared.”

Dr. Singh reassured Carly that she was in the right place. She explained that if the bleeding continued, the babies would need to be delivered that night and assured her that everything was going to be okay.

Dr. Singh moved forward with an emergency C-section and safely guided Carly through the delivery. The situation progressed so quickly that Brent was unable to arrive in time for the delivery. Within an hour, on January 20, 2026, Carly gave birth to her twins, Jasper and Jamie Edgar.

With Jasper weighing around 3 pounds and Jamie around 2 pounds, the twins were taken straight to the NICU for close monitoring.

In the NICU, you have to trust the medical team, and I did because they were so amazing.

Carly Edgar

Trust in the NICU

After being discharged from the hospital, Carly settled into a routine. Every morning and every evening, she returned to the NICU to be with her babies, doing what she could to stay close and involved in their care.

“During the NICU journey, it can feel like two steps forward, one step back, and that can be defeating,” Carly says. “You feel helpless because at home you have more control. In the NICU, you have to trust the medical team, and I did because they were so amazing.”

Carly formed close connections with nurses like Bonnie Thompson, Jodi Austen, and Kim Carter, who were attentive and deeply committed to the twins’ progress.

One moment in particular stayed with her. One morning, Carly arrived to find Jasper was not in his cot. For a moment, she feared something had happened. She then saw that Nurse Kim had placed him beside Jamie so they could be together.

“They were in my belly together the whole time,” Carly says. “To have them separated and on machines and wires for so long, and then to come in that morning and see them together, it was just really special.”

The journey home

While the average inpatient stay in MSH’s NICU is around ten days, the twins required six and seven weeks of care. Jasper was the first to go home. Jamie followed one week later, after needing more time to stabilize her oxygen levels and meet feeding milestones.

Today, both Jasper and Jamie continue to thrive and to grow stronger each day. Carly has kept the same feeding and sleeping routine at home that they followed in the NICU, helping create a smooth transition for their family.

Behind every moment of care in the NICU is the essential equipment that supports it. “The equipment in the NICU is so important. You need that confidence that your babies are being monitored properly and that the team can respond right away,” Carly says. “If anyone is able to contribute and support advancements in technology and equipment, it truly does not go unnoticed.”

Having access to leading-edge technology and equipment, made possible by our generous community, plays a critical role in helping premature and critically ill infants receive the strongest possible start in life. Through MSH Foundation, your support helps fund essential equipment in the NICU so families like the Carly’s can continue to receive the specialize care they need, close to home.