Newport Mum Recounts Near-Fatal Childbirth Crisis

A Rhode Island woman is speaking out about a harrowing medical emergency that nearly claimed her life and that of her newborn daughter. Chloe Jacobs, 39, of Newport, says she narrowly survived childbirth after suffering a severe placental abruption that resulted in the loss of more than eight litres of blood.

The ordeal began at 1:30 a.m. on March 1, when Jacobs, who was 34 weeks pregnant, woke up feeling dizzy and perspiring. While the symptom initially seemed manageable—as dizziness can often be a benign condition linked to dehydration or changes in blood pressure—the situation escalated rapidly just 90 minutes later when she awoke to find herself bleeding heavily.

“I was petrified. I sat on the loo and the blood just poured out of me, like a tap,” Jacobs recalled. Her fiancé, Chris Smallwood, 40, immediately contacted emergency services. An ambulance from the Isle of Wight and Hampshire service arrived in under five minutes, a response time that medical experts say was critical to the survival of both mother and child.

Upon arrival at St Mary’s Hospital, physicians determined that Jacobs was experiencing a placental abruption, a life-threatening complication where the placenta partially detaches from the uterine wall, cutting off essential oxygen and nutrients to the baby while causing internal hemorrhaging. Medical staff confirmed that the baby needed to be delivered via emergency caesarean section within 30 minutes to ensure her survival.

Baby Pixi was delivered at 4:51 a.m., weighing 4lbs 12oz. While she required five hours of respiratory support in the special care unit, she has since recovered. For Jacobs, the path to safety was significantly more grueling. Following the birth, medics were initially unable to stop the hemorrhaging. She required nine blood transfusions and was placed into an induced coma under general anaesthetic to manage the critical blood loss.

“I’m so lucky and so grateful to be alive. I honestly can never thank the medical team enough. Pixi or I, or both of us, could so easily have died. It’s very scary to think about.”

— Chloe Jacobs, Patient

The situation became so dire during the recovery process that Smallwood was advised to contact family members as doctors battled to save Jacobs’ life. “I think there were about 20 people in the room with her. Every 20 minutes someone came to tell me they were still working on her. I could see how panicked they were,” Smallwood noted.

Medical professionals emphasize that while dizziness during pregnancy can sometimes be traced to common factors like blood sugar fluctuations or medication side effects, clinical presentations like those experienced by Jacobs highlight the necessity of immediate evaluation for any sudden or severe symptoms during the third trimester. Thanks to the intervention of the medical team, both mother and daughter have been discharged and are reported to be in good health.