United States: Hailey Okula, who worked as a nurse influencer, passed away shortly after she delivered her firstborn son Crew, according to her husband.
The couple experienced infertility symptoms for 24 months before the birth of their child. The ER nurse Okula shared her experiences of infertility and pregnancy publicly through social media with a following of nearly 1 million people. On Tuesday, through his Instagram account, Matthew Okula, a Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter, announced the passing of his wife, Hailey Okula.
According to Fox 11 Los Angeles, interviewer Matthew Okula revealed his wife suffered cardiac arrest because of an amniotic fluid embolism when doctors performed Caesarean section delivery of their baby Crew on Saturday, CBS News reported.
About amniotic fluid embolism
Women face the dangerous pregnancy complication known as amniotic fluid embolism or anaphylactic syndrome of pregnancy, which rarely occurs after delivery or within this period.
The absorption of amniotic fluid by the mother’s bloodstream through her bloodstream triggers this medical condition, as per the Cleveland Clinic explanation.
Research performed by the clinic shows that the origin of the condition remains mysterious.
During childbirth, amniotic fluid naturally enters the bloodstream, yet a limited group of individuals develop severe allergic reactions when amniotic fluid consisting primarily of water combined with fetal cells and tissue mixes with blood, CBS News reported.
The medical emergency led to heart failure and lung failure, as well as cardiac arrest, which similarly affected Okula.
People with amniotic fluid embolism may also “bleed uncontrollably from their uterus or C-section incision,” the clinic noted.
Multiple studies indicate that amniotic fluid embolism emerges during 1 out of 40,000 childbirths in the United States, as stated by the Amniotic Fluid Embolism Foundation, which supports families affected by this complication.
Furthermore, “For perspective, there are approximately 4 million deliveries in the United States, meaning approximately 100 women may suffer an amniotic fluid embolism,” as per the foundation’s website notes while adding that published rates of survivability range from 20 to 60%.
“Although survivability has increased over the last 20 years with advances in critical care and obstetric medicine, it cannot be emphasized enough that an amniotic fluid embolism is extremely difficult to treat and considered one of the most fatal birth complications in the world” the foundation maintained.