Urvy Keown’s third pregnancy was progressing like her previous two, uneventful yet exciting with anticipation of another child, when a routine sonogram at 20 weeks detected a rare condition that put her pregnancy – and her life – in danger.
Urvy, 36, had complete placenta previa and placenta increta, meaning that her placenta was covering her cervix so that she couldn’t delivery vaginally and it had grown deeply into her uterine wall. Without proper care, if she went into labor and delivered the placenta, she would hemorrhage and die. She needed a specialist and found David Principe, MD, a board-certified OB/GYN who specializes in maternal and fetal medicine at St. Joseph’s Health.
“At St. Joseph’s Health, we have the expertise to handle the most complex cases – and Urvy’s situation had quickly become complex,” Dr. Principe said. “Our mission was to keep Urvy from delivering too early, but to be prepared in case her baby had other plans.”
While on required bed rest, the Jersey City mom made an excel sheet for her husband and their two children, ages 7 and 3 ½, for the week that she’d be in the hospital after delivery. But plans changed when she went into pre-labor at 28 weeks and needed to be hospitalized until she gave birth. She would need a cesarean section and then a hysterectomy.
“It was such a scary pregnancy and I knew my baby and I could die from this,” Urvy said. “I was also coming to terms with a risky hysterectomy at age 36 and having to deliver a premature baby no later than 35 weeks. But Dr. Principe was amazing at keeping me objective and calm – he repeatedly explained his plan and how he was going to save our lives and minimize complications.”
Urvy spent five weeks in the hospital, with her children visiting on weekends. She said the 18 nurses and other staff members who cared for her, from food services to the environmental team, were “incredible and became a second family. Thanks to Dr. Principe’s team and the care from my nurses, I made it to my scheduled cesarean date of 34 weeks.”
“Our team was in place and ready for Urvy to deliver,” Dr. Principe said. “You never know what’s going to happen until you get in there, but Urvy did really well and we were able to deliver her son without any complications.”
During the procedure, Urvy was awake and saw her newborn, William, for a minute before she was given general anesthesia for the hysterectomy. “Despite all the risks, I felt confident on the operating table because I was surrounded by the best team,” she said. When her surgery was over, Urvy learned that the team of 25 people in the operating room did everything Dr. Principe said they would.
Typically, premature babies stay in the hospital until their mother’s original due date, but the nurses knew what Urvy had been through and told her they were working hard to help William learn to eat so he could leave when she was discharged. True to their word, both mom and baby left five days after the complicated birth.
“I delivered my other children in different hospitals so I know this experience could have been very different,” Urvy said. “Dr. Principe is a rock star and the nurses at St. Joseph’s Health are really special. They care. I am forever indebted to St. Joseph’s.”
