While visiting the hospital in February, Alexis Hawkinson, age 3, told a friend that her mom “lives here now.” Those words were close to the truth, says her mother, Kimberly Hawkinson. On Feb.2, she checked into the OB Unit and stayed until her second daughter, Sydney, was born on March 5.

Hawkinson had a pregnancy related condition called placenta-previa, in which the placenta covers the cervix, sometimes causing bleeding with preterm labor. At 21 weeks of pregnancy, Hawkinson learned through an ultrasound that she had it, and Cheryl Hansen, M.D., of Western OB/GYN Women’s Health Center, told her to watch for bleeding and contractions. The condition is not uncommon, according to Dr. Hansen, who says about one pregnant woman in every 250 will experience it. For this same condition, Dr. Hansen herself spent six weeks in the hospital during the pregnancy of her daughter, while she was still in medical school.

“Dr. Hansen explained everything to me,” Hawkinson says.  “She was upfront and informative and because she had experienced the same thing I felt like she knew the physical and the mental challenges I was facing.”  Hawkinson checked in to the hospital on Feb. 2 because of bleeding. Dr. Hansen was concerned about preterm labor, so Hawkinson stayed off her feet at the hospital and was given a drug to suppress contractions. On March 5, when her pregnancy was at 35 weeks, she began bleeding again. A pregnancy is considered to be full-term at 37 weeks. At that point it was time to evaluate whether or not to deliver the baby. Although Dr. Hansen was not the doctor on call that weekend, she came to the hospital to discuss the options with Hawkinson and her husband, Eric. She stayed to deliver Sydney by cesarean section. “We always have to weigh the risks between keeping baby in and taking baby out,” Dr. Hansen says. At just over 5 pounds, Sydney’s lungs were fully developed, which was the main concern.

Because she was small, Sydney stayed in the hospital for several days after her mother went home. However, the roller coaster ride wasn’t quite over, says Hawkinson. Sydney experienced several bouts of sleep apnea one day and was diagnosed with RSV, a common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children. According to Hawkinson, Sydney is getting stronger every day and is now home with her family. “It’s been difficult,” Hawkinson says. “But I’m so thankful to Dr. Hansen who had personally gone through a similar experience and to the caring nurses in the OB Unit for how things have turned out.” Big sister Alexis is happy her mom is back home and now is excited for Sydney to “finish her medicine” and come to her real home.

Lisa Baumann
HEALTHVIEWS STAFF WRITER

Contact Cheryl Hansen, M.D. at our Waconia, Chaska, or Delano locations by calling (952) 442-2137.