Every mother’s hope, prior to her baby being born, is that delivery goes as smoothly as possible, and that baby and mom are healthy. Most of the time, that is exactly what happens. As a medical professional, though, I am at least somewhat acquainted with the ways in which labor and delivery can go sideways or even way off the track – which is why I chose to have my baby at United, a hospital that I not only work at but trust to care for myself and my family.

This was my third child, a greatly anticipated addition to our family, and my first little girl. At my age, I knew there would be risks with pregnancy and delivery, but I trusted my OB and my delivery team to guide me through.

Everything initially seemed to go as planned – until it didn’t. Baby girl was a rockstar and was born without incident. But then things went a bit sideways. Some extra bleeding. Some significant pain, which I initially tried to explain away. There was a shift change, a new nurse on – Ashley. The unit was picking up. More and more babies were being born, and more C-sections were coming in. Ashley attended to me with efficiency and competence. She clearly was experienced. I liked her immediately, recognizing her as attentive and kind, a good nurse. My pain was not improving, and though I tried to minimize my symptoms, Ashley noticed some findings on my exam that worried her. She delayed my transfer to the postpartum floor due to her concerns. Though the floor and OR were quite busy, she was persistent in her advocacy for me to have further evaluation. After evaluation, I was found to have a life-threatening condition requiring emergency surgery.

I truly believe Ashley saved my life that day. Without her astute clinical intuition, vigilance, and persistent advocacy, my new baby girl and two other kids may not have their momma here today. After successful intervention by my incredibly talented OB team (who also saved my life!), I had a relatively unremarkable postpartum course and recovered quickly. Ashley came to visit me during my recovery on the post-partum floor, which made me feel truly cared for. She went above and beyond in her care of me.

Thank you so much, Ashley and the OB team. I cannot express how grateful I am that I was under your care.