AUSTIN (AP) A Texas mother who became pregnant after a miscarriage says her experience was the result of a bizarre, painful childbirth.
Sarah Smith says she was rushed to a hospital for a C-section but was later found dead, along with the baby she gave birth to.
Her husband, David Smith, says the experience was traumatic.
Smith was 14 months pregnant with their second child when she miscarried in March.
She says she woke up the next day and found herself in a hospital room, where she was given an IV and an epidural.
I could see a lot of pain,” she says.
The hospital staff told her she was not pregnant and would have to have an abortion.
David Smith says he was upset about the miscarriage, but didn’t think it would be his wife who was pregnant. “
I was in there for a couple of hours, just to calm myself down,” she recalls.
David Smith says he was upset about the miscarriage, but didn’t think it would be his wife who was pregnant.
In an interview with ABC News, he said, “She was just too young to be thinking about something like that.”
David Smith told ABC News the hospital staff tried to convince him to have a second C-sections.
He said that they offered to pay for the second one.
When he returned home, Smith said he had another miscarriage, which was followed by a third, but that he thought she was just in the process of getting pregnant again.
“It was like I just got a second miscarriage, and it just felt like the second miscarriage was when I was really angry,” he says.
David Smith believes his wife should have been given an abortion and believes the hospital was trying to get him to terminate the pregnancy.
They say he was told that because he was in a state of severe fetal distress and there was an imminent risk of severe neurological damage, the procedure would not be successful.
David and Sarah Smith, both doctors, say they were not aware of the medical risks associated with a CEC.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a fetus can suffer severe brain damage during delivery.
Sarah Smith’s doctors said they would not perform the C-Section on her if she was still in a fetal position.
Her husband, however, believes the decision to abort was made on the spot, and that Sarah Smith’s health was not in danger.
“I’m sure the doctors knew that they were in a very, very difficult situation and were trying to avoid causing an abortion,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission says the agency has launched an investigation into the case.
This story was originally published on March 20, 2018.