Team member stories: Ashley Rolfe went into labor at 28 weeks. Prisma Health was there.
Ashley Rolfe works with Prisma Health as a nurse in pediatric case management in the ambulatory care program. She and her husband were raising their son and ready to try for another pregnancy but having some difficulty getting pregnant. Her doctor recommended the Prisma Health Fertility Center.
“The fertility center was amazing from day one,” Ashley said. “They were so helpful and so kind and so quick. They helped us figure out what steps to take and what we wanted. That meant a lot to me and my husband. We were really nervous, not sure what to do or how far to take it. Having them be a part of that thought process and providing support was so important.”
They underwent three rounds of IUI, a form of fertility treatment that is less invasive than IVF. On the third round, Ashley became pregnant.
At 28 weeks, she went into labor.
“I didn’t know I was in labor,” Ashley said. “I felt pressure coming and going but I didn’t know what it was. I called the OB office and they told me to immediately come see them.”
Ashley’s husband accompanied her to the obstetrician’s office, where they found out she was already 3 cm dilated and in active, true labor. OB/GYN Sharon Aldrich, MD, started her on magnesium to see if they could stop the labor and buy her baby, and her body, more time. When the labor didn’t stop, Ashley was transferred to Prisma Health Richland Hospital to receive a higher level of care.
“The resident doctor met me in triage and told me I was in labor, they were hoping to stop it, but if they couldn’t stop it then I would need an emergency C-section,” said Ashley. Soon afterward, the triage room became crowded with medical professionals, every single one dedicated to preparing Ashley for her C-section and supporting she and her husband through their baby’s birth.
Their daughter Ella was delivered within half an hour, and immediately sent to the NICU to give her the best chance at thriving after birth. The next day, Ashley was able to visit the NICU and her newborn daughter.
“It was really overwhelming,” said Ashley. “I’ve walked the NICU as a nurse and as an educator and all these roles that I’ve been in at Prisma. But when you walk through those doors as a mom, it completely changes your perspective. Even though I knew she would be okay, it’s still really scary to look down and see your tiny little 3-lb, 28-weeker that just came out in the world. She was struggling to breathe and she couldn’t eat. Your nurse brain turns off, and your mom brain turns on.”
The NICU nurses made sure Ashley got as much skin-to-skin time as possible with Ella, and mom and baby were supported both at the Richland NICU and also at Prisma Health Baptist Hospital when Ella was transferred there before her release.
“We got to take Ella home right before her due date, about 12 weeks after she was born,” said Ashley. “She did amazing. She came home with no breathing issues and did really well. We’re grateful. We truly feel like she has been the biggest blessing in the world to us.”
Ella turned ten months old and is meeting her milestones, eating solids and generally being a joy to everyone around her.
“I say she is the product of the Lord and Prisma Health,” said Ashley with a laugh. “She was conceived at the fertility center, born at Prisma and in the NICU at Prisma after that. That goes to show that Prisma Health is here for good. Ella is a piece of heaven on earth to us. We wouldn’t be here without everything that Prisma did for us, to get to this place.”
Ashley’s experienced took her to areas of Prisma Health she had never seen before as a team member, and led her to see the kind of incredible, supportive care that Prisma Health team members provide every day for members of our community, right from their very first day on Earth.
We’re not just here to help a cough or treat a cold. We’re here for that first visit to your baby in the NICU. We’re here to help you conceive the daughter you’ve dreamed of. We’re here to help you bring your baby home.
In short, Prisma Health is here for good.