Arizona Mother Dies After Giving Birth to Quadruplets in Phoenix
A new mother in Arizona died just hours after giving birth to quadruplets at a Phoenix hospital on Friday.
After receiving a C-section at the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center on Thursday, 36-year-old Erica Morales died early Friday before she was able to see her newborn babies.
"They were transporting her from the surgery to whatever room, and she was still unconscious at that point. So, no, she never got to see them," said family friend Nicole Todman, according to the Associated Press.
Morales, who was around seven months pregnant at the time, was originally taken to the hospital to be treated for high blood pressure. However, complications ensued and she was taken into surgery. Doctors at the hospital have yet to specify the cause of her death, but Todman said she is not concerned with how or why she died.
"I don't even care to know," Todman said, "It doesn't matter why. She's still gone."
Todman added that she paid the premature newborns a visit and that they are doing well.
"They're beautiful. They have tubes in their mouths and their noses. They've got little monitors and wires all over their body," Todman said.
At birth, the babies -- Erica, Tracey, Paisley and Carlos -- all weighed between about 2 1/2 pounds to a little over 3 pounds. They will likely remain in the neonatal intensive care unit they are healthy and strong enough to go home.
Todman said that Morales, a former real estate agent who was working as an enrollment counselor at the University of Phoenix, and her husband, Carlos, who works in manufacturing, had been trying to conceive a baby for years. Morales also suffered from a miscarriage before becoming pregnant last June.
"She worked very hard to have the baby," she said. "She did everything, everything she could have done to make sure they are healthy."
"Her focus of her pregnancy was to make sure she did everything to make sure they were healthy so she was able to bring them into this world -- and she did," Todman said.
Todman also described Morales and her husband of seven years as the "perfect couple."
"Understandably he is heartbroken. He is incredibly joyful to see his kids. It is bittersweet," Todman said, reports WCNC.
Todman raised more than $29,000 in donations on behalf of Carlos and the infants via GoFundMe as of Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!