A baby born with little blood in her body has survived in Florida.
Orange County resident Jennifer Juarez gave birth to Hope, who appeared to be ghost white due to a rare condition called fetal-maternal hemorrhage, back in December 2013. After losing 80 percent of her blood during an emergency C-section, Hope was rushed into surgery and given a blood transfusion.
During the pregnancy, Hope would kick frequently and when she suddenly stopped, Jennifer knew something was wrong.
Hope was lucky because of her mother’s instinct, according to Dr. Marielle Nguyen, a neonatologist at Kaiser Permanente, Irvine Medical Center, where Hope was born. She said all indications are that the baby will have no problems.
“We have seen this, but not often,” said Nguyen. “In Hope’s case, her outcome was beautiful because it was the classic textbook case they tell you about. The mom knew right away that she had a clue something was wrong. She couldn’t feel the baby move. And she came in right away and we delivered the baby. If we had waited any longer, the outcome would have been different.”
Normally babies who face fetal-maternal hemorrhages suffer delays in development, but at three months, Jennifer says that Hope is doing just fine. She also noted that she named her before she knew anything was wrong.
“I absolutely felt blessed,” said Jennifer Juarez. “I was completely fine while all my other friends were either sick or had issues during their pregnancies. I felt so lucky.” said the first time mother. “It’s so amazing she was able to survive and do so well. We are thinking God must have a special plan for her. Everyone asked us if we had named her after the situation. We didn’t. But it was meant to be.”
We’re glad Baby Hope is doing well.
SOURCE: ABC News | VIDEO CREDIT: ABC News
