SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sanford USD Medical Center was recently recognized as one of the best maternity care hospitals in South Dakota.
Every year thousands of patients from across the state and beyond come to Sioux Falls for medical care. Rachel Fredericksen and her family welcomed their newest addition Everlee, this past week.
“We are really excited. She was not originally planned. But she has been the perfect addition for our family,” Fredericksen said.
But her pregnancy was not an easy one. Fredericksen found herself at Sanford often.
“I had a sub-chronic hemorrhage at the beginning, which I was bleeding quite often,” Fredericksen said. “So I’ve been in with ultrasounds probably once every four weeks during the entire pregnancy with her and and so I got to know the nurses and doctors and ultrasound techs pretty well.”
The techs found more problems after an ultrasound.
“They found that I had polyhydramnios, which is extra fluid in the placenta. So I actually delivered her three weeks early because of that,” Fredericksen said.
Now she’s the proud mom of a health baby girl. OBGYN Heather Spies has worked at Sanford for 18 years. She says it’s crucial to have access to maternity care for patients like Fredericksen.
Officials searching for missing Yankton man last seen swimming in Missouri River
“Pregnancy can be a very natural, simple process, and everything can go just as planned. But oftentimes, something will come up where there’s a complication, everything from high blood pressure to really complicated diabetes, or something unexpected, like a hemorrhage or bleeding, either during or after the birth,” Sanford OBGYN Heather Spies said.
Spies says they help thousands of patients a year with all types of maternity care.
“We have phenomenal team here, not only at this medical center, but also in the surrounding towns and the surrounding cities that are all a part of our Sanford Health Community,” Spies said.
Sanford Health has a broad reach with hundreds of locations in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.
