Featured Image Credit: rnnewgrads/Instagram
Topics: Health, Parenting, Social Media, US News
Ella Scott
Topics: Health, Parenting, Social Media, US News
Influencer Hailey Okula has died after giving birth to her first child due to 'complications from childbirth'.
Hailey, 33, amassed almost one million followers across social media with her funny, relatable nursing videos.
The content creator also gained traction online for her willingness to discuss her arduous IVF journey with her husband, Matthew Okula.
After years of infertility, Hailey had recently been sharing the highs and lows after finally becoming pregnant.
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However, shortly after giving birth to her son, Crew, Matthew announced on social media that she had died from childbirth complications.
“It is with the heaviest of heart that I share the devastating news of the unexpected passing of my beautiful wife, Hailey Marie Okula, due to complications from childbirth,” the Instagram tribute post began.
“Words cannot convey the depth of the loss I feel. Hailey was more than I could have ever dreamed of in a wife and partner.
“She was gorgeous, smart, hardworking, passionate, trustworthy, and above all else, unbelievably loyal. For nearly 13 years, she stood by my side in the hardest of times, loving me endlessly, even when I felt undeserving of that love. She was my everything.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter went on to say that he and his late wife ‘badly’ wanted to be parents, and after years of fertility struggles, the pair were ‘overjoyed’ to learn they’d be welcoming a child into the world together.
“Hailey faced every hurdle with so much courage and love—even though her body went through so much, she never wavered.
“I will never forget the moment I broke down, apologizing for the toll the process would take on her. She held my face, looked into my eyes, and said: ‘We are a team, and we’ll get through this together.’ That was Hailey. A fighter. A teammate. A woman who would do anything for the people she loved.”
Matthew went on to say the content creator would’ve made the ‘most amazing mom’ to their son, Crew. He also explained that during this period, the family are keeping ‘certain details’ regarding her death private.
“Please continue to hold our family, and especially little Crew, in your prayers as we learn to carry on without her. Her love and light will forever remain in all of our hearts,.
Matthew later revealed in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles that she died from ‘a very, very, very rare complication known as amniotic fluid embolism’
Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is an obstetric emergency that involves amniotic fluid or other fetal material getting into a new mother’s bloodstream, the Cleveland Clinic reports.
“100 moms a year die from this condition,” he said. “There’s no treatment. There’s no way of diagnosing it. It’s just so sad to think that other people have to go through what I’m going through right now.”
The National Institute of Health calls AFE ‘unpredictable with an elusive origin’, and claims various factors can contribute to its development.
These include encompassing maternal age, cervical ripening, having gestational diabetes or even suffering from asthma.
It’s estimated the rare complication can affect around 1.9 to 6.1 women per 100,000 births.
However, the exact prevalence remains uncertain due to inaccurate diagnosis and underreporting of nonfatal cases.