Jennifer Keep

Swedish delivers high-risk care

Jennifer Keep never expected that a routine visit to the doctor would entirely change the next six weeks of her life. Jennifer was pregnant with her second child and for the most part her pregnancy was going well. She prepared to have a natural birth by mid-wife as she did with her first child and was expecting to hit her due date with no interruptions. However, that day at the doctor's office changed everything in her plans.

The news

During her visit, doctors found that she was suffering from placenta previa, a complication that puts a pregnant woman at high-risk for bleeding. "I was pretty scared because I didn't know what could happen," says Jennifer. With such a complication Jennifer was also told that she'd have to stay at the hospital on bedrest until her baby was born. "I had to figure out what to do with work, it was really hard for my family," explains Jennifer.

Welcome to Swedish/Life on bed rest

As life quickly turned upside down in a matter of minutes, she says the staff at Swedish was prepared to make the transition as smooth as possible. "I didn't have to worry about a thing! They took great care of me," she explains. Jennifer quickly became a "resident" at Swedish as she would describe it and settled into her new home away from home. “It was a lot like being at home but better! I didn't have to worry about my next meal, I didn't have to worry about my care, it was great," she says. "I was always taken care of."

Jennifer was monitored three times a day for an hour at a time. "I got to know all the nurses quite well," she explains. "They embraced me like family. I could walk around the unit a little at a time and I also got the chance to make friends with other expecting mothers in my unit. It was nice to have others to talk too."

Care for mom & baby

After several weeks into her stay at Swedish, baby Audrey was born by c-section on February 26 weighing in at 4 lbs. 13 oz. a month and a half earlier than expected. "Everybody was so well trained. My delivery went really well," says Jennifer. Audrey stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for several days and Jennifer says the care for her daughter was an even bigger comfort during her stay. "They were great with Audrey, I felt I could leave at any point and she would always be in good hands."

Happy ending

Jennifer couldn't be more thankful to have had such a great staff of medical professionals by her bedside day in and day out. "I just came, stayed a while and had a baby. I would recommend Swedish to anyone! It's such a good hospital. They have a plan for everything — my care here was absolutely wonderful!"