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Mother Of Rare Identical Triplets Nearly Dies When Her Heart Stops While Giving Birth

By Pam Wright
Published on: 08:30 PST, Mar 30, 2016

A young mother nearly died when her heart stopped beating while giving birth to her rare identical triplets.

Amber Ertley, of Oneonta, Alabama, gave birth to her identical daughters on Saturday, February 20, but very nearly didn’t survive.

According to Fox 10, Amber and her husband, Levi Nelson, thought that they were done having children — they have two other daughters — when they learned that they were not only expecting again but were expecting triplets.

Identical triplets are incredible rare and form when a single fertilized egg splits two times. The Nelson triplets were identical because all three girls shared the same amniotic sac and placenta.

According to Fox 10, at least one study puts the odds of having identical triplets at one in 20 million births.

As Amber went into the hospital to have her identical triplets via C-section, all appeared to be well. However, as the procedure was carried out, Amber’s health rapidly began to deteriorate.

According to AL.com, the first two babies were born without incident, but after the third baby arrived, Nelson looked over at his wife and noticed that something was very wrong. He told reporters later that it looked like she was having a seizure.

Nelson said he heard doctors calling for a “Code Blue” as pandemonium broke out as doctors and nurses began running to Ertley’s room. Amber’s heart stopped twice after the third baby came out and coded twice, he said.

“It was the scariest moment of my life. I was afraid I was going to be be-bopping home with three new babies and no momma.”

The doctors were able to revive Ertley, but she had lost a lot of blood.

Nelson would have to wait six hours before he was able to visit his wife, and when he did, she was sedated and hooked up to a breathing tube.

Ertley said his faith helped him see that his wife was meant to remain to care for their family of seven.

“I believe that God has been watching over her closely knowing it is not her time to go, her babies need her.”

The triplets, all weighing more than four pounds at birth, were named, Norah, Rylan, and Remi, and were healthy enough to not need any oxygen or IV fluids, Nelson said.

Ertley remained in the hospital until early March and suffered more blood loss two days after the birth. Four days after her discharge from the hospital, she hemorrhaged again and had to be readmitted to the hospital. She was finally released on March 7 and has had no recurring problems.

As the family settles in at home, Ertley continues to visit doctors three to four times a week. As for the babies, they go through a minimum of 21 diapers a day, said Nelson. Thankfully, the family that struggles — Nelson remains without a job — has many good friends and neighbors that help them out with diapers, food, and formula.

Ertley said life with her identical triplets is a blessing, but they do struggle financially.

“We are forever grateful to be a happy family together. We say every night, ‘We don’t have much, but man are we blessed with kids and the outpouring of love and support from friends and even strangers.'”

The couple has started a GoFundMe page, where you can donate money for medical expenses and baby supplies for their identical triplets. They have so far raised more than $5,000.

[Image via Facebook/Amber Ertley]

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