‘Christmas Miracle’ Mom and Baby ‘Dead’ in Labor, Revived – ABC News

Christmas ‘Miracle’ Mom and Baby ‘Dead’ in Labor, Revived – ABC News.

When I started this blog earlier this week, I thought that my first real “massagedoulahealthnews” post would be about the history of waterbirths around the world.  I was planning on taking it slow and making sure that I had a lot of preparation before sharing my first news-worthy item with you. 

That all changed when I read about this story earlier this evening on ABCnews.com.

As you can see, there are very few details in the report.  Apparently Tracey Hermanstorfer was in labor when things took a turn for the worse and she suffered a cardiac arrest.  She said she remembers the medical attendants getting ready to insert a catheter and then…nothing.  She had no pulse, no heartbeat, and her color was no longer a healthy shade.  The next thing anyone knows, as the doctors are performing an emergency c-section (WITHOUT anesthesia because they thought she was dead), she regains her pulse!  Then, after the baby was delivered (stillborn) and the doctors were finishing Tracey’s operation, the baby is Revived!  This is truly an amazing and happy turn of events.

I have so many questions: Was this her first baby?  How long had she been in labor?  How had her labor been progressing?  What interventions had been used?(obviously she was getting a catheter for a reason)  How had she been feeling in the hours and days before being admitted for birth?  Even though the doctors have no explanation for her cardiac arrest or for the sudden return to life of, not one, but both of their patients; I wonder what are they considering as possible causes?  With the U.S. having one of the highest rates for maternal and infant mortality, might this family’s story shed a light on statistics that few in the medical community want to admit?

I am hoping that when I watch the Hermanstorfer’s interview tomorrow on Good Morning America, some of these questions will be answered.

So, that’s my first news-worthy post.  Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.  I’ll be updating this story once I see the interview.

Oh, and by the way, I still plan on writing about waterbirth in the very near future!