Vivian Viteri and her husband felt blessed to have two daughters, but as the youngest became a little older they decided to try for a third child. Vivian was born at Good Samaritan Medical Center. As an administrator in the healthcare industry, Vivian knew right away that she wanted to give birth at Good Samaritan Medical Center.
From her professional experience, she believed that the Good Samaritan Medical Center team was excellent and felt comfortable knowing there was a NICU team on staff just in case extra care would be needed.
Just like her previous pregnancies, she had a perfectly normal pregnancy. However, when she arrived at the hospital she started feeling contractions that were a lot faster than she remembered with her other two pregnancies. Within three hours the baby was born and the nurses noticed while examining Vivian that there was an abnormal increase in bleeding.
Obstetrician Dr. Sylvia Sigfried came to see Vivian right at that time and was immediately able to assess the situation and told Vivian that she was having a postpartum hemorrhage and they had to take it out.
According to Dr. Siegfried, postpartum hemorrhage is not uncommon and it's one of the leading causes of maternal death*. It can be very serious with the large amount of blood flow that's going to the uterus at the end of pregnancy. It is really important for the medical team to recognize the symptoms. At Good Samaritan Medical Center their maternity care team runs drills for postpartum hemorrhage where they get all of the medical team, including anesthesiology, involved to ensure that everyone knows what to do when, and what the next steps will be.
“The fact that she was here at that moment and she worked with the team here to take care of me right away, I mean she saved my life.” Vivian reflected.
Without the nursing staff and physicians at Good Samaritan Medical Center, Vivian might not be here today.
Learn more about Good Samaritan Medical Center today!
*Source: Corbetta-Rastelli CM, Friedman AM, Sobhani NC, Arditi B, Goffman D, Wen T. Postpartum hemorrhage trends and outcomes in the United States, 2000–-2019. Obstet Gynecol 2023 Jan 01; 141(1): 152-161.
