The baby had suffered a fetal-maternal hemorrhage, and doctors estimate that baby Hope had lost almost 80% of her blood supply. A life-saving emergency C-section allowed physicians to give Hope a blood transfusion and deliver her safely. The infant girl’s very pale, ghost-like coloring at birth was the result of her being born with almost no blood in her body.
Why fetal hemorrhages happen is somewhat of a medical mystery: they often simply take place spontaneously. Hope is only the second-known child born in recent years to survive this condition. Doctors believe this infant girl would have died after just a few more hours in her mother’s womb.
Motherly instinct made all of the difference in Hope’s survival.
