We’ve all heard stories of people dying and coming back to life. Often these people recall what they saw or experienced when dead. However, for this new mother, it was a slightly different experience.
Discover our latest podcast
A new mother in Texas was ‘clinically dead’ for 45 minutes while giving birth. Thankfully, the mother and her babies were all safe. But what exactly happened to her?
New mother clinically dead for 45 minutes
As reported by The Independent, Marisa Christie from Texas welcomed three new babies into the world. However, her experience was quite a story.
Speaking with Today, she recalled her birthing experience. She revealed that she had suffered a very rare post-birth complication due to which she was ‘clinically dead’ for 45 minutes.
She explained that she had just given birth to her triplets when her ‘arms flew up’ and her heart stopped. It was her anesthesiologist who first noticed something was wrong. Marisa suffered from an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).
Dr. Ricardo Mora, Marisa’s anesthesiologist had seen AFE once before and recognised the signs. He told Today:
It’s pretty catastrophic. When it occurs, it’s about 80 percent, 85 percent fatal. I asked Dr. Samuel what she had done. She related to me that she had just started pulling the placenta out and that’s usually the time when this occurs — the separation of the placenta and uterus.
As per The Independent, the new mother stopped breathing and had no pulse. Doctors then performed CPR and she was placed on ECMO - a machine that controls the heart and lungs. Dr Mora explained:
She essentially lost what we consider her whole blood volume. We replaced her blood volume. So, for 45 minutes, she was clinically dead.
Following the ordeal, Marisa was unconscious for a week. When she woke up, she learnt that she had given birth to three babies. She revealed that she had no recollection of delivering her children.
My husband was like, ‘Hey, so we had the babies. They’re healthy and great’. I was absolutely terrified… How could I not remember having my babies?
I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know these babies. This is very strange. They feel like they’re not real. They feel like they’re not mine’. It took a little bit to get that connection with them.
What is an amniotic fluid embolism?
As per the AFE Foundation, an amniotic fluid embolism is a rare condition where the amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream shortly after birth and causes an allergic reaction. The amniotic fluid is what surrounds the fetus while in the womb during pregnancy.
This complication can be life-threatening. According to the Cleveland Clinic, an AFE can lead to heart and lung failure, which causes several complications due to a lack of oxygenated blood in your body. Sometimes AFE can cause a person to bleed uncontrollably from their uterus or C-section incision.
As reported by the Cleveland Clinic, AFE affects 1 in every 40,000 deliveries in the United States and 1 in every 53,800 deliveries in Europe.
Read more:
Woman who 'died' after a violent car crash explains feeling an out-of-body experience
Woman who died and came back to life reveals humanity is halfway through a 'golden age'
Sources used:
Cleveland Clinic: ‘Amniotic Fluid Embolism (Anaphylactic Syndrome of Pregnancy)’
The Independent: ‘Mom who was dead for 45 minutes during child birth wakes up in hospital to find out she gave birth to triplets’
AFE Foundation: ‘What is Amniotic Fluid Embolism?’
Today: ‘Mom, 30, was 'clinically dead' for 45 minutes. When she woke, she found out she gave birth to triplets’
