Colorado Mother Dies After Choosing To Save Baby

Rare condition takes mom's life during childbirth (KUSA)

AURORA - The mother of Declan Jay Bugal died shortly after giving birth to what doctors at the Medical Center of Aurora described as a 7-pound, 4-ounce-miracle.

During labor on Nov. 3, doctors discovered that Declan's mother, Karisa Bugal, had a rare condition called amniotic fluid embolism.

"The amniotic fluids surrounding the baby or part of the baby's skin or hair gets into the mother's bloodstream and that causes catastrophic shutdown of all the organs," Dr. Kelly Gerow said. "We don't know how to prevent it. We don't know how to keep it from happening at all."