Heather Gumbley, Associate Publisher, Marketing
The 20-week ultrasound led to great news--a healthy baby!--and some not-so-great news: placenta previa (when the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix). In the vast majority of instances, the placenta “migrates” as the belly grows and everything continues on to a full term birth. In my case, it didn’t.
At 29 weeks, I rushed to the hospital after waking up to bright red bleeding. After nearly delivering then, and spending four days in the hospital, I was sent home on strict bed rest. Six weeks of bed rest later, I woke up to more bleeding and after the hospital’s fetal monitor showed our baby in distress, I was rushed into the OR for an emergency c-section. It all happened so quickly that by the time my husband got on his scrubs and was ushered into the OR, our precious daughter, Rhea Kathleen, had been born: all 4lbs 8 oz of her!
Off to the NICU Rhea went, where she stayed for 5 days. Rhea had a few health concerns (irregular heartbeat, potential hip dysplasia) that resolved themselves in her first months of life, and today she is a sweet, smart and sassy 3-year old.
