A Texas mother claims to have no memory of giving birth to triplets after being pronounced “clinically dead” for 45 minutes.
Marisa Christie, in an interview with Today, shared her personal experience in the hospital where she disclosed that she encountered a rare complication after giving birth.
“The doctors carefully delivered all three babies and placed them on my stomach for delayed cord clamping,” the mother shared with the publication, recounting her experience during the cesarean section. “In that moment, my heart stopped as my arms instinctively flew up.”
Christie went through a distressing ordeal called an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE). As outlined by the AFE Foundation, this uncommon occurrence happens when the amniotic fluid, which envelops the fetus in the womb during pregnancy, enters the mother’s bloodstream shortly after delivery, leading to an allergic reaction.
Allergic reactions to amniotic fluid during birth are rare, occurring in only 2.5 out of every 100,000 births or 1 in 40,000 in the United States.
During the delivery of the triplets, Dr. Amber Samuel successfully brought them into the world. However, it was Dr. Ricardo Mora, the anesthesiologist, who observed Christie experiencing seizures and recalled having encountered a similar case of Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) in the past.
Christie’s breathing ceased and her pulse vanished as the doctors initiated CPR. Subsequently, she was connected to ECMO, a machine that assumes control of the heart and lungs’ functions, allowing her body to recuperate with reduced strain.
After a week of being unconscious, she finally regained consciousness and was greeted with the news of the birth of her three triplet girls: Kendall, Collins, and Charlotte.
Christie was filled with fear and confusion when her husband informed her that they had already had the babies and they were healthy and doing well. She couldn’t comprehend how she could have no recollection of giving birth to their children.
Meeting her children when they were just a couple of days old felt incredibly strange for the mother. She didn’t have the usual time with them that a mother would typically have.
“I still recall that moment vividly, a mix of confusion and detachment. These babies in front of me felt unfamiliar, almost surreal. It was as if they didn’t belong to me,” she shared. “But with time, I managed to forge a deep bond with them.”
Despite Christie being unconscious, the doctors made sure to keep the babies close to her, emphasizing the importance of their bond.
“They could sense my maternal presence,” she remarked. “They actively engage with me when I communicate with them, unlike with others.”
Christie and the triplets have safely returned home, and she expresses immense gratitude for having overcome this ordeal. Reflecting on the experience, she acknowledges the rarity of such cases, but remains thankful for the series of miracles that allowed her to survive.
