One Monitor, Three Heartbeats: How a Michigan Hospital is Advancing Triplet Pregnancy Care
Not all healthcare milestones make headlines, but some quietly move the needle on what is possible in patient care. That moment recently arrived at Covenant Healthcare — a Joint Commission Certified Level III Birth Center in Saginaw, Michigan — becoming the first facility in the nation to install the OBIX BeCA® Triplet Monitor. A clinical first that didn’t happen by accident; it was the result of a forward-thinking investment and a team committed to leading from the front.
The Challenge of Monitoring Multiples
Caring for patients with multiple gestations demands the highest level of precision. For a high-volume center like Covenant, which handles nearly 3,000 births annually, managing the increased risk is a clinical reality. As the Covenant Healthcare team explains, “A multiples pregnancy increases the risk of complications for both the patient and the fetuses. By using the most updated technology available, we’re confident in providing the safest possible care and identifying concerns as early as possible.”
This commitment to proactive care drove Covenant to seek out the most advanced tools, making the limitations of older technology impossible to ignore. Historically, monitoring triplets required juggling two separate electronic fetal monitors at once. This workaround created compounding clinical challenges, including cumbersome equipment, a higher cognitive load for nurses, and a more intimidating experience for patients. Covenant knew there had to be a smarter, more advanced solution.
A Partnership Built for This Moment
Covenant’s journey with OBIX began in September 2024 with implementation of the comprehensive OBIX system.
After successfully adopting the OBIX BeCA monitor for singleton and twin pregnancies, the team was eager for the next advancement.
“We’ve been looking forward to this capability since purchasing the BeCA monitors,” the team shared. “While our annual volume of triplet pregnancies is small, we’re thrilled to have the capability to monitor them on one machine.”
This proactive mindset is why, the moment OBIX BeCA received FDA clearance for triplets, Covenant was the first customer to reach out to acquire the groundbreaking technology. Their eagerness to lead made them the natural choice to become the first installation in the nation. The BeCA was engineered for moments like this:
- Intuitive Interface: A vivid 8.4″ icon-driven touchscreen makes navigation simple and efficient.
- Consolidated Data: The system automatically scales for twins and triplets, displaying all three fetal heart rates on one clear tracing.
- Flexible Display: Clinicians can easily switch between a detailed trace view and a “Big Numbers” display to suit their immediate needs.
- Reliable Transducers: High-sensitivity ultrasound transducers ensure accurate readings, even for patients with a high BMI and low gestational age.
- Patented Locate and Track Technology: The OBIX BeCA fetal monitor contains Huntleigh’s unique, patented “Locate and Track” technology that easily detects and maintains contact with the fetal heartbeat. This, combined with high- sensitivity ultrasound transducers, supports fetal monitoring in antenatal and labor settings even for patients with difficult assessment. This capability is especially critical in multiple gestations, where maintaining a distinct and accurate signal on each fetal heart rate is paramount. The patented technology “automatically locates and tracks the baby’s heart rate” and “is highly effective with high BMI mothers too.”
Why This Matters: Safer, Simpler, and Better Care
This advancement delivers meaningful benefits across the board. For a Level III Birth Center, the ability to identify potential concerns early is paramount. Having a clear, consolidated view of all three fetal heart rates alongside maternal data creates the kind of situational awareness that supports informed perinatal care, helping to empower faster, more confident decisions when every second counts.
The new system also directly supports the care team. Eliminating the need to coordinate two separate monitors for a single patient reduces the cognitive and physical burden on staff, freeing them to focus on direct patient care. Finally, a calmer, less cluttered environment significantly improves the birthing experience. By streamlining the technology at the bedside, the OBIX BeCA helps create a more comfortable and less intimidating atmosphere for patients and their families.
A Partnership Ready for the Future
Covenant Healthcare’s readiness to be the first was built on a foundation of proven performance and trust. Their confidence in OBIX’s triplet monitoring capability is rooted in direct experience with their technology. “We appreciate how well the wired transducers capture preterm gestations and look forward to seeing that in action with triplets,” the team shared.
This trust, earned through clinical results rather than promises, is what made Covenant the ideal partner to bring this new capability to life. While triplet pregnancies can be rare, being fully equipped to handle them with clinical confidence reflects a commitment to comprehensive, proactive care. As multiple gestations continue to be managed in labor and delivery, the ability to monitor triplets using a single monitor helps to significantly increase the accuracy of each fetal heart rate and reduces the number of fetal monitors in the patient’s room. Covenant Healthcare didn’t wait for that answer. They helped write it.
Leading Innovation Starts with the Right Technology
Interested in learning how the OBIX BeCA Triplet Monitor can support your labor and delivery team? ? Contact OBIX today to learn more about bringing next-generation fetal monitoring to your organization.
The material presented in this blog represents the opinion of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Synova Associates. Synova Associates does not endorse any specific products or organizations but strives to connect its industry partners with leaders interested in product/educational innovation.
