'Separated from my baby, tied to a hospital bed - and I didn’t know why'

She gave birth, then nearly died. Three years later, Laura is still living with the impact of that day.

Rebel Wylie

5 min read

July 21, 2025 - 9:57AM

Parenting

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Laura Morgan was 29 when she became a mother. She had a straightforward pregnancy after IVF and was looking forward to the calm of a planned c-section.

But within hours of her son’s birth, Laura suffered a rare and life-threatening Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) and went into cardiac arrest. Three years later, the physical and emotional impacts of that day still affect every part of her life.

“I was a gardener before I became a mum – full time, outdoors, busy. My wife and I had just built our home. Life was good.”

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Laura and Ash are sharing their story to raise awareness during Birth Trauma week. Image: Supplied.

The long road to pregnancy

Getting pregnant took time and planning. After two failed IUIs, (intrauterine insemination) Laura and her wife Ash had success with their first round of IVF with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). “We were lucky,” she says. The pregnancy was largely smooth - a bit of morning sickness, and gestational diabetes managed by diet.

They were booked in for a C-section at their local Victorian hospital. Then, just days before the birth, COVID hit.

“I tested positive first, then Ash. It meant postponing the birth for a week. We had to isolate at opposite ends of the house, worried Ash might miss the birth. But by some miracle, our infections were just staggered enough that we could both be there.”

The C-section went ahead at 39+5. Laura remembers a relaxed atmosphere in theatre, with music playing. “They got our son out, and after half an hour of oxygen his oxygen levels improved. But I started feeling faint and nauseous. I have a medical condition that affects my blood pressure, so at first I thought it was that.”

“Something wasn’t right - and then everything went black”

Staff tried to get a blood pressure reading but couldn’t. No one seemed overly alarmed.

“They gave me something for the nausea, but I could tell something wasn’t right.”

Laura was taken to recovery with her newborn son, Charlie, and Ash. That’s when everything unravelled.

“I had this excruciating pain in my stomach. I told Ash something was wrong. A midwife pushed on my stomach and blood just started pouring out - clots everywhere. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I was screaming.”

After that, Laura remembers nothing.

Three years later, Laura is still living with the impact of that day. Image: Supplied.

“They didn’t think I’d survive the trip”

What happened next was a blur for Laura - and a nightmare for Ash. Hospital staff called a code blue and frantically tried to stop the bleeding. Laura was rushed back to theatre as blood coated the walls. Doctors struggled to insert IV lines. She was critically ill.

“They didn't even know if she’d make it onto the air ambulance,” Ash recalls.

Laura had suffered an Amniotic Fluid Embolism - a rare, unpredictable obstetric emergency where amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream. Her heart stopped. CPR was performed for five minutes before they were able to restart it.

At the next hospital, she was placed in a medically induced coma for 36 hours. Survival rates for AFE are low. Staff were traumatised.

Waking up confused, restrained - and missing pieces

Laura was in a coma for 36 hours after her heart stopped. Her first memories are disorienting and frightening.

“I woke up with a tube down my throat and started gagging, pulling at it, panicking. I didn’t know what was happening. Apparently, they had to tie me down to stop me from ripping it out.”

Later, there’s a video of her learning how to sip water again. “I had to remember how to swallow. I didn’t know how to use my body.”

No one explained the trauma she’d just survived.

“People began visiting, they put Charlie to my breast. Everyone acted like things were normal, but no one told me what had happened. I had no idea I’d nearly died.”

“I couldn’t be with my baby - that broke me”

Her first meeting with baby Charlie in ICU was surreal. “He was placed on me, but I had cords everywhere. I was too unwell to move.”

Hospital rules meant Ash and Charlie could only visit when a midwife was available to escort them. “I was alone a lot. It broke me. Being separated from your baby like that in those early days is not healthy. I cried every day.”

Laura stayed in ICU for four days and in hospital for two weeks. It wasn’t until she was discharged and read her records that she fully understood what she’d endured - including a collapsed lung and a second-degree tear from a balloon inserted to control the bleeding.

“No one told me about that. I wasn’t even caring for the wound because I didn’t know it was there.”

Laura and Ash are fighting for change so others don’t have to. Image: Supplied.

A long recovery with invisible scars

Today, Laura is 32 and still living with the consequences.

“I have memory issues, word recall problems, trouble with fine motor skills. I can’t work. I can’t even button my son’s pyjamas quickly or tie my daughter’s hair up. I’ve had to fight to be heard.”

She also suffers from PTSD, OCD, cognitive impairment and chronic fatigue. Despite the severity of her injuries, most follow-up support stopped after three months.

“I see a psychiatrist, a cardiologist, an osteo - all self-funded. Sometimes I have to delay appointments just to afford them.”

Therapy helped Laura prepare for the birth of her second child - Ash gave birth a year ago - but it was a deeply anxious time. “I was terrified something would go wrong again.”

She believes the system has failed parents like her.

“The care just stops. You’re left to piece everything together. There’s no holistic support. People don’t realise that not all trauma is visible.”

“We were lucky – and that’s the scary part”

Laura considers herself fortunate. “Our trauma was acknowledged from the beginning. We were treated with compassion and given resources right away. But a traumatic birth isn’t always so obvious. That’s the danger - when trauma goes unrecognised, people don’t get help. All births need to be screened so families can access the right care early.”

She’s now speaking up as part of Birth Trauma Awareness Week, hoping her story will spark change.

“I’m doing this so that when - if - my daughter gives birth one day, there’ll be better services. No one should be left to suffer in silence.”

What the research shows

New research released by Birth Trauma Australia as part of their This Is Birth campaign reveals:

98 percent of those who experienced birth trauma report ongoing physical injury or unmanaged pain.
69.6 percent link their trauma to distressing or emergency procedures.
53.8 percent report poor management of pain or physical injuries.
Just 28 percent of public patients say they were properly informed of their options.

The consequences of trauma left untreated are dire. Delayed diagnoses of injuries often lead to severe mental health impacts, including suicidal ideation. Yet current postnatal care in Australia provides little more than a six-week check.

Birth Trauma Australia is calling for a National Strategy for the Care and Treatment of Birth Injuries, including:

Mandatory postnatal screening
Clear referral pathways
Funded access to psychological, surgical, and rehabilitative care

“We cannot continue to treat birth injuries as an ‘expected’ part of childbirth,” says Birth Trauma Australia CEO Amy Dawes. “We need proactive, trauma-informed systems that support long-term recovery.”

You can support Birth Trauma Australia's call for a national strategy by signing their petition.

For more support, visit birthtrauma.org.au or contact PANDA on 1300 726 306.