I think all babies are extraordinary, but Hope Juarez came into this world about six weeks ago in a really exceptional way. When she was delivered via emergency C-section she was ghostly pale. According to medical staff she was as white as a sheet. Newborn babies are not born the color of white sheets.
Hope's parents Josh and Jennifer Juarez from Fountain Valley, California had a feeling something was wrong and Josh says, "I knew that something was really wrong when they started pricking at her feet trying to get blood to come out and there was no blood coming out." Somehow hours before Hope was born all the blood drained out of her body!
What?! How is that even possible?
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Dr. Marielle Nguyen, a neonatologist at Kaiser Permanente, Irvine Medical Center said, "She probably lost about 80 percent or more. She was pale. She was really white."
It is not clear what happened during 27-year-old Jennifer Juarez's pregnancy to cause the fetal-maternal hemorrhage. Even doctors aren't sure what causes it. What is clear is that Jennifer helped save Hope's life.
Jennifer was three weeks away from her due date and she noticed that her baby had stopped kicking. The baby would normally kick about 10 times during a half hour and then just stopped. Jennifer went to her midwife and told her she felt something was "not right." Because of her gut feeling Jennifer got attention right away. Doctors believe that if she has waited even an hour or so, Hope would not be alive today.
Now Hope is alive and a thriving. She survived thanks to her mother's instincts and a blood transfusion.
So happy to hear that this story has such a happy ending. Congratulations to the whole family and kudos to the medical team that took care of the situation so well. Standing ovation to Jennifer for listening to her instincts.
Image via ABC 7
