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Web cam lets military dads in on kids' births
4 hours ago

By BOBBY WARREN

Staff Writer

WOOSTER -- Thanks to an Internet connection, two Wayne County men deployed in the Middle East felt a connection to their newborns when their wives gave birth at the Women's Pavilion at Wooster Community Hospital.

The use of a Web cam allowed U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeff Marotta to see his son, Brayden Jeffrey, moments after his wife, Angie, gave birth Feb. 26.

U.S. Marine Corp Lance Cpl. Drew Scott also saw his daughter, Kaylynn Elizabeth Scott, shortly after his wife, Danielle, delivered the baby girl on March 10.

The two births are the first of what hospital leaders expect to be a flood of requests for the Web cam service. As word spreads, Women's Pavilion Manager Diane Field said she believes more and more people will be interested in it. There already have been discussions with a third family to make a camera connection with South Africa.

The Marotta family was the first to employ the technology at the hospital. The couple purchased a laptop computer with a Web cam as a way to communicate after Jeff Marotta was deployed overseas. But, "We did not plan on this," Angie Marotta said.

Jeff Marotta asked his wife to inquire whether a Web cam connection could be established in the delivery room. Because this was the first request, it took a little while for the hospital staff to figure out what needed to be done. Field contacted the information systems department, which provided the laptop and Web cam.

The Marotta family said they appreciated the great efforts taken by the hospital staff in order to make the event happen. Once the system was set up and tested in one of the rooms, the hospital saved the room for two weeks so it would be ready when Angie Marotta delivered her baby.

When Jeff Marotta was deployed overseas and the couple knew he would not be home for the birth of his son, Angie Marotta said her husband had the attitude that "I'll catch the next one." However, once he was overseas, Angie Marotta said he really wanted to be a part of the delivery. She, on the other hand, was devastated when she found out he would not be here for the birth.

After Brayden was born and she went home, Angie Marotta said, "I am still in shock. He's here, but he's not -- he's across the world."

The chaplains in the Middle East made Jeff Marotta's connection possible, he said in an e-mail to The Daily Record. "I was awake for 29 (hours) awaiting the birth of my son. It was a feeling that is not even describable by words," Jeff Marotta wrote.

Angie Marotta's twin sister, Amber Oberly, helped worked the Web cam and typed instant messages to Jeff Marotta.

Danielle Scott had no idea a Web cam could help her husband be part of their daughter's birth. Drew Scott called her on March 9 and asked if the baby was born. When he found out his wife had not yet delivered their firstborn, Drew Scott raised the possibility of using a Web cam.

When Danielle Scott called the hospital, she was surprised to discover the technology had already been used and would be available when she gave birth.

Neither father saw their babies delivered -- "We're not putting that on the network," Field said. But they did get to see mother and child right after delivery.

"He heard her cry, and then he got to see her," Danielle Scott said of her husband, who is serving somewhere in Iraq. Later, the two were able to send instant messages back and forth.

"I think it is nice for them. There is a better emotional connection when they are not able to be here," Field said of using the Web cam.

The connection was an emotional one for the Scott family. It was the first time Danielle Scott -- and his parents, George and Connie Scott -- saw Drew Scott since October, when he was deployed in Iraq.

"It was so emotional, and touching, to see his face," Connie Scott said. "He was beaming. He kept saying how beautiful (Kaylynn) was."

"It was great to see him," George Scott said. "We hadn't talked to him that much. We don't know where in Iraq he is."

Both families expressed appreciation for the help from physicians, nurses and the hospital staff to make the arrangements possible.

"I was amazed," said Sharon Oberly, Angie Marotta's mother. "I was happy (Jeff) could be there and be a part of it."

For the first two births using the Web cam, Field said the equipment was borrowed from the information systems department. Since then, the Women's Pavilion has invested in its own Web cam and laptop.

Business and Wayne County government reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1638 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com.

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