Another mother dies giving birth to triplets

[IdahoMom]

There is an obit in my local paper today for a young woman who died giving birth to twins.

We tend to forget that childbirth is just plain dangerous, even with modern medicine.

Oh, that is so sad. I think that family members will have to very carefully explain how it was that mommy died. That would be a very delicate subject.

 

[hoppyfrog]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7841227

8 Feb 08

A Comstock Township man lost his wife during the birth of their triplets. Now he is raising the kids by himself.

Jeff Hagenbuch watches over his newborns - Trinity, Teegan, Rowan - tucked tightly into bed alongside one another, nestled safely in their crib.

It is the little things parents revel in - their baby's smile, a gentle coo, their first words - benchmarks Jeff is looking forward to celebrating, but rejoicing without his wife.

"A lot of times you're in a daze, just going through the motions, just bounce, bounce, bouncing around," Jeff told 24 Hour News 8.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives as new parents.
"It started out to be a good day. She called me and said, 'I'm going into labor,'" Jeff remembers.

Tina Hagenbuch was admitted in December to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo and doctors performed a C-section. Tina lost consciousness after the arrival of the first baby, a boy named Teegan. Then the other two babies, both girls - Trinity and Rowan - arrived.

But something went wrong and Tina died a half hour later.

much more--incl pics and video--at link

 

[ljwf22]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7841227

8 Feb 08

A Comstock Township man lost his wife during the birth of their triplets. Now he is raising the kids by himself.

Jeff Hagenbuch watches over his newborns - Trinity, Teegan, Rowan - tucked tightly into bed alongside one another, nestled safely in their crib.

It is the little things parents revel in - their baby's smile, a gentle coo, their first words - benchmarks Jeff is looking forward to celebrating, but rejoicing without his wife.

"A lot of times you're in a daze, just going through the motions, just bounce, bounce, bouncing around," Jeff told 24 Hour News 8.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives as new parents.
"It started out to be a good day. She called me and said, 'I'm going into labor,'" Jeff remembers.

Tina Hagenbuch was admitted in December to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo and doctors performed a C-section. Tina lost consciousness after the arrival of the first baby, a boy named Teegan. Then the other two babies, both girls - Trinity and Rowan - arrived.

But something went wrong and Tina died a half hour later.

much more--incl pics and video--at link

Here's another one: http://www.wwmt.com/news/jeff_1346826___article.html/tina_babies.html

There's another fundraiser March 1.

 

[ljwf22]

Another update. Cute pictures. These babies are a miracle.

"COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP -- Jeff Hagenbuch went from being a happily married father-to-be to a widowed father of triplets when his wife, Tina, died on Dec. 18 during childbirth.

Just that quickly.

Now he's preparing himself for the seemingly endless stream of donated home-cooked meals, clothes, formula, diapers and extra pairs of hands to stop. He said he knows daughters, Rowan and Trinity, and son, Teegan, won't be "flavor of the month" forever."
Link: http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2008/02/triplets_widowed_father_carrie.html

 

[jantel74]

Jeff sounds like a great dad. I'm glad Tina's mom has been able to live there and help with the babies. I imagine three at once is quite overwhelming. Dad really stepped up to the plate.

 

[Nocgirl]

Having triplets at that age is very risky.

My friend who is 42 or 43, just had twins 2 weeks ago, thanks to IVF. She wound up having a C/S because of preclampsia. After the birth it all went downhill. She caught pneomonia and was severely swolllen due to water retension. She had so much bruising around her abdomen they thought she had internal bleeding. She wound up back in the hospital where she was for another week. To top it all off her husband is in Afganistan so friends and family had to volunteer to take care of the twins around the clock.

She is finally out of the hospital and recovering but it was close.

 

[T-Rex]

Is it having triplets that killed her, or having a C-section?

 

[ljwf22]

Is it having triplets that killed her, or having a C-section?

It is thought to be a combination of several factors, each of which could have killed her. I know a few nurses at this hospital who said Tina didn't have a chance. It wasn't the C-section though. It was a high-risk pregnancy.

 

[IdahoMom]

It is thought to be a combination of several factors, each of which could have killed her. I know a few nurses at this hospital who said Tina didn't have a chance. It wasn't the C-section though. It was a high-risk pregnancy.

Pardon my ignorance, but it seems like she would be out of the woods once she was on the table, having them via C-section. Do you know if blood pressure spikes during that procedure or something? Were Tina and Jeff aware of how high risk she was? When your friends say she didn't have a chance...(yikes! )...did doctors think she was doomed from the get-go??

 

[ljwf22]

Pardon my ignorance, but it seems like she would be out of the woods once she was on the table, having them via C-section. Do you know if blood pressure spikes during that procedure or something? Were Tina and Jeff aware of how high risk she was? When your friends say she didn't have a chance...(yikes! )...did doctors think she was doomed from the get-go??

It is thought that she had an amniotic fluid embolism. Quoting from JBean's earlier post: Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE)

This is an extremely rare but fatal condition which can kill as many as half the women it affects. In the UK there are about 3 cases a year and very little is known about the condition. AFE is an obstetric emergency which occurs when amniotic fluid, foetal cells, hair or other debris enters the mother's blood stream via the placenta and triggers an allergic reaction, causing cardiac and respiratory failure. It will only happen if three other events occur. These are; · Rupture of membranes · Rupture of the veins in the uterus or cervix · Increased pressure from uterus to vein Small traces of foetal tissue are common in pregnancy but in some women it can trigger AFE. It can occur before, during or after delivery and 50 per cent of women will die from it within the first hour. Survivors may have neurological problems. It is not thought that it is hereditary or genetic. Characteristics include larger than normal babies, late deliveries (beyond 42 weeks), hard labour, sudden onset of shock, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and chills. The cause is unknown and the condition is unpredictable and unpreventable.

This complication hadn't been seen at this hospital in over 20 years. The bolded part is why it is said she didn't have a chance. That the babies are very healthy is a miracle.

 

[IdahoMom]

It is thought that she had an amniotic fluid embolism. Quoting from JBean's earlier post: Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE)

This is an extremely rare but fatal condition which can kill as many as half the women it affects. In the UK there are about 3 cases a year and very little is known about the condition. AFE is an obstetric emergency which occurs when amniotic fluid, foetal cells, hair or other debris enters the mother's blood stream via the placenta and triggers an allergic reaction, causing cardiac and respiratory failure. It will only happen if three other events occur. These are; · Rupture of membranes · Rupture of the veins in the uterus or cervix · Increased pressure from uterus to vein Small traces of foetal tissue are common in pregnancy but in some women it can trigger AFE. It can occur before, during or after delivery and 50 per cent of women will die from it within the first hour. Survivors may have neurological problems. It is not thought that it is hereditary or genetic. Characteristics include larger than normal babies, late deliveries (beyond 42 weeks), hard labour, sudden onset of shock, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and chills. The cause is unknown and the condition is unpredictable and unpreventable.

This complication hadn't been seen at this hospital in over 20 years. The bolded part is why it is said she didn't have a chance. That the babies are very healthy is a miracle.

OK...I misunderstood your other post. I thought you meant that staff at the hospital knew that she didn't have a chance before she even went into labor. (I need coffee!) I had read before about the AFE, which I understood to be unpredictable (like you bolded)- hence, the confusion about when staff knew she didn't have a chance.

So, then once the AFE sets in, it is difficult if not impossible to control the outcome? That is so sad and scary.

Thanks for helping me to understand.

 

[ljwf22]

Yes, it was after that the staff knew. I'm not very clear today, either. I'd like to blame it on my head cold, but I think it's permanent.