Ghost white baby born without blood

Jennifer Juarez had a gut feeling that something
was wrong when her baby, who had kicked up to 10
times in a half hour during the latter part of her
pregnancy, suddenly went still. Hope was delivered three weeks early in December
2013 by emergency cesarean section, but she was
so pale at birth that when doctors tried to prick her
foot to measure oxygen levels, they could barely get
a drop of blood. About 80 percent of her blood had drained from her
body due to a fetal-maternal hemorrhage. "When they first pulled her out, she looked perfectly
fine," said Juarez, 27, of Fountain Valley, Calif. "But
she was ghost white. She was breathing like a
normal baby, but she had no color to her--not even
pink." Watch a report on Hope Juarez's birth from
ABC's affiliate KABC. Hope, who was 6 pounds, 2 ounces, had a
hemoglobin level of 3.8; an average baby should be
between 10 and 15, according to doctors. So-called "ghost white babies" are rare, and those
that do not die in utero or are still born, can have
neurological damage, according to the National Institutes of Health. The biggest signal of fetal- maternal hemorrhage is decreased fetal activity. But Hope was lucky because of her mother's
instinct, according to Dr. Marielle Nguyen, a
neonatologist at Kaiser Permanente, Irvine Medical
Center, where Hope was born. She said all
indications are that the baby will have no problems. "We have seen this, but not often," said Nguyen. "In
Hope's case, her outcome was beautiful because it
was the classic textbook case they tell you about.
The mom knew right away that she had a clue
something was wrong. She couldn't feel the baby
move. And she came in right away and we delivered the baby. If we had waited any longer, the outcome
would have been different." Nguyen said she didn't know what happened to
cause the fetal-maternal hemorrhage. Sometimes a
trauma to a pregnant woman's abdomen or a car or
motorcycle accident can cause the placenta to
separate from the uterine wall. "A lot of times it's spontaneous," she said. "In a
normal pregnancy the baby loses a little bit of blood,
but it's rare to lose more. When she came out, she
had lost so much it was difficult to draw any blood
from her." Babies who lose this amount of blood can survive
for some period of time before birth because the
mother and baby's circulation are "joined," according
to Nguyen. But Juarez's "instinct" and prompt
response likely saved the baby. Dr. Jennifer Ashton, senior medical contributor to ABC News and an ob/gyn, agreed a mother's
observations of her baby's kicks are an "important
indicator" of fetal well-being or distress. "In reality, the term 'ghost-baby' and description of
'being born without any blood' are not really
accurate," she said. "I have definitely seen many
cases of feto-maternal hemorrhage and while this
particular case is very severe, babies can
absolutely survive." Hope was the first child for Jennifer, who works for
work for the Orange County Trafficking Task Force,
and Josh Juarez, 30, a soccer coach, who also
works in elder care. Her pregnancy, like 98 percent of others who
experience fetal-maternal hemorrhage, was
completely normal. "I absolutely felt blessed," said Jennifer Juarez. "I
was completely fine while all my other friends were
either sick or had issues during their pregnancies. I
felt so lucky." But at about 37 weeks, she said the baby seemed
to stop moving. "Every morning I felt kicks -- she
was very active and always moving," said Juarez.
"So I did all the things they tell you to do--I drank
cold water, lay down for a while and ate some sugar.
I felt something was off, but I wasn't sure." Jaurez had an afternoon appointment with her
midwife and mentioned her concerns. Everything
still seemed normal, but Juarez was sent to the
hospital to be checked out. An ultrasound showed that Hope's heart rate was
starting to drop. "It was all a bit of a blur and a little
chaotic," said Juarez. "It was scary." Juarez was rushed into surgery and after doctors
determined Hope was missing so much blood, she
was transfused. "She's quite a fighter," said Hope's mother. "She
latched (on the breast) right away. Babies with brain
damage don't." Doctors are still watching Hope for any signs of
delay in her development until she is six months
old. But so far, all seems normal. "She's doing everything a baby at her age should be
doing," said Juarez. "She is smiling and lifting her
head and eats really well. She has hit all her
markers." "It's so amazing she was able to survive and do so
well," she said. "We are thinking God must have a
special plan for her. Everyone asked us if we had
named her after the situation. We didn't. But it was
meant to be." Nguyen agrees. "They say she is a miracle. Her
name is very appropriate."