Kendra Simmons delivered a stillborn son, at 38 weeks and two days, after hemorrhaging badly from a placental abruption. It’s a rare, but serious, complication of pregnancy when there’s premature separation of the placenta from the uterus lining during labor.
But even as she grieved her son from her bed at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, she found a bright spot in Dr. Lewis Lipscomb, who was the on-call OB in the emergency department when Simmons came to the ER. He’s also the system physician executive at Novant Health Women’s & Children’s Institute in Winston-Salem.
She credits him with saving her life. And despite the grief she carries, Simmons lights up when she talks about Lipscomb. See for yourself in the video above.
You deserve a positive, comfortable birthing experience.
Simmons made an impression on her doctor, too. He said they were “emotionally connected” and added, “I will never forget the day I met” her.
When Simmons conceived again two years later, she asked Lipscomb if he’d care for her during her pregnancy, which was high-risk due to her age (she’s over 35) and the placental abruption she’d suffered. He called it “a privilege.”
Expecting a baby after losing one is “bittersweet,” Simmons said. Her excitement was tinged with worry she might lose this baby, too. But Lipscomb delivered Simmons’ healthy girl – her “rainbow baby,” she said – in December 2024. She loves motherhood and calls herself “highly blessed and highly favored.”
Doctor and patient already shared a special bond, but it’s grown even stronger. “Her baby and I share a birthday,” Lipscomb said, “and that’s been a real blessing.”
