Video begins with two women talking as they descend the front steps of a home. Soft music plays and continues throughout video. 

Text fades onto title screen that reads, "Hear Her. Desiree and Kirsten's Story." CDC and HHS logo shows at bottom. 

Screen fades to closeup of Desiree who begins: I am Desiree. I am from a small ski town in Northern Utah. I have three kids, married the boy next door, and decided to stay local.

As Desiree talks, the screen widens to include Kirsten sitting on the sofa beside Desiree, smiling as she listens.

Screen shifts to closeup of Kirsten: I'm Kirsten. I also have three kids. I'm her younger sister. And I now live in Boise, Idaho.

Screen shifts to closeup of Desiree: So, we were really excited when my daughter was born, hearing them say, “Oh, it's a girl.” And I remember everyone's taking turns holding her, and my doctor said to me, "Hey, Des, we have a problem. Your placenta is not coming out.” Um, and he said, “I'm going to have to go in and get it.”

My past two pregnancies before this delivery, um, I had healed, bounced back pretty quickly as far as feeling good. After this delivery, I was struggling with bleeding. And I didn’t want to bring up that I was bleeding with everybody. It just felt uncomfortable for me. 

So, I finally confided in my sister and said, “Hey, is this normal? Did you have this?” (Kirsten nods as Desiree continues.) Because I felt safe bugging her about it. 

Kirsten: And I just was like, “I, I don’t know these things. Just go check it out.” You never know. Right? What’s the worst that could happen?

Desiree: I went into his office that afternoon, and he found a silver dollar-sized piece of retained placenta. And he said, “We need to do a procedure to take that out in order for you to get better.” 

When I had that procedure done, I began to hemorrhage. I was passing very large clots. Then I went home on oral medication in order to control the bleeding. And we thought, “That’s it. I’m good.” And then a week to the day, I began to have very heavy, gushing blood. And then I went back in for help.

Text fades onto black background: Postpartum hemorrhage (heavy bleeding) can be a SERIOUS pregnancy complication. (The word "serious" is emphasized with all capital letters and underlined in red.) Screen fades back to Desiree.

Desiree: In the doctor’s office, that’s when like the dam broke. I mean, it just, my doctor described it as “a garden hose turned on full blast.” I began to lose consciousness very quickly. I was rushed to the ER. 

At that point a decision was made that a hysterectomy was the only way to save my life, because I had already lost so much blood. 

They rushed me into the OR, and my husband said, “I remember watching you being wheeled down the hallway and thinking, I might not see her again.” (Desiree shakes her head as tears come to her eyes and Kirsten nods somberly.) And, thankfully, I woke up.

Text fades onto black background: Getting care right away can SAVE a life. (The word "save" is emphasized with all capital letters and underlined in red.) Screen fades back to Desiree.

Desiree: I don’t think I would’ve gone in had she not told me to go. I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time. I felt like I was being dramatic, and I didn’t want to, it’s embarrassing. I didn’t want to go in and say, “I have this problem.”

Screen widens to include Kirsten who touches Desiree's leg, and they both smile as Kirsten says, "So glad that you did, because, it saved your life."

Desiree: As women, we're smart. We are intelligent. We're powerful. We know when things aren't right. And we know our bodies better than anybody else… (Kirsten nods in agreement.) 

Desiree continues: And if it’s not right, go in. 

I was lucky. I have an OB who listened. He paid attention when I said, “Something isn't right.”

Text fades onto black background: Be the support she NEEDS. (The word "needs" is emphasized with all capital letters and underlined in red.) Screen fades back to Desiree and Kirsten sitting togther. 

Kirsten: I think people just forget to look at the mom and they focus so much on the baby, as they should. But moms they need somebody there, just watching out for them.

Desiree: And I, I know I recovered quickly because of the support that I had. 

Desiree voice-over as screen fades to her and Kirsten standing outside, smiling and laughing together: But I will forever be grateful for everyone who rushed in, in whatever capacity that looked like.

Screen fades to close-up of Kirsten: I would encourage other support people to be that look-out. Be the support she needs.

Screen shifts to close-up of Desiree: Hear Her…It could save a life.

Text fades onto black background: Hear Her logo. Hear Her Concerns. Learn more at cdc.gov/hearher. DDHHS and CDC logo. Video ends as music fades.