The Death of Nurse Hailey Has Ignited a Conversation Around Amniotic Fluid Embolisms

.That's how L.A. firefighter Matthew Okula described his wife's tragic passing on March 31, shortly after the 33-year-old nursing influencer delivered their son via . "It just came upon me so quickly, unexpectedly," Matthew said in an interview with on April 2.Matthew says he'd just walked out of Hailey's hospital room with baby Crew when his wife went into cardiac arrest due to a “very, very rare complication" called amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).

According to the , AFE is a “rare and life-threatening complication that occurs when a pregnant woman gets amniotic fluid into their bloodstream just before, during, or immediately after childbirth.”“A minute later, the doctor let's me know that they're doing CPR on her,” the firefighter recalled. "I'm making the decision, 'Am I going to the ICU to be with my wife or am I staying with my newborn little baby?' Not the decision we thought I would be making."This content can also be viewed on the site it from.Nurse Hailey's passing has sparked a conversation about amniotic fluid embolism, which effects 1 in every 40,000 deliveries in the United State and is “,” per the Cleveland Clinic.

Here's what you need to know.The death of Hailey Okula has understandably left a large community of nursing students, healthcare workers, and prospective parents reeling.