Allison Wilcox, a 33-year-old woman from Colorado, was over the moon when she found out she was pregnant back in January 2023. The elementary school teacher was overjoyed and excited to begin her motherhood journey.
However, the happiness soon turned into a nightmare as she started bleeding heavily, just a day after her positive pregnancy test. Wilcox rushed to the doctors, and after an initial examination, she showed early signs of miscarriage at five weeks.
The woman told People Magazine, “My pregnancy was quite the rollercoaster from the very beginning.” Wilcox and her husband were left shocked and heartbroken when doctors told the couple that the pregnancy was likely ending.
The couple spent the next week grieving and receiving emotional support from their family. However, Wilcox began suffering from severe lower back pain.
At the time, a family member, also a physician, urged the woman to consult doctors to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. Surprisingly, no scans showed such a condition, and the doctors told her she was no longer pregnant. One physician also told her, “At this point, miscarriage is the best outcome.”
But fate had other plans. After several days, during their follow-up appointment, Wilcox contacted her sister. She told her about having a vivid dream, where doctors suddenly found out that she was pregnant, with a baby in her ultrasound.
Woman Gets 36 Ultrasounds After Doctors Insist She’s Having a Miscarriage. 8 Months Later, Gives Birth to ‘Miracle’ Baby (Exclusive) https://t.co/C67P02YWy6
— People (@people) February 1, 2026
Magically, this is exactly what happened in reality. A hormone (hCG), produced during pregnancy, had increased drastically (from 197 to 707). The doctors also identified a yolk sac. Although no heartbeat was confirmed at that time, doctors said that was “normal.”
Recalling the moment, she said, “We called everyone, celebrated, and taped the tiny ultrasound photo to our fridge.” She also called it the most “amazing miracle.”
However, their happiness was short-lived. Once again, Wilcox was about to be hit by bad news. Two days later, while teaching her class, she received lab results showing her hCG levels had barely risen. Moreover, the doctors told her progesterone had dropped below viable levels.
Her obstetrician informed her that the pregnancy might not survive. At this point, Wilcox felt extremely low, sharing, “It felt like a miracle had been dangled in front of us and then ripped away.”
Despite the negative results and doctors’ advice, the woman did not give up. She went around Colorado, for different expert opinions and underwent 36 ultrasounds, all of which concluded she was miscarrying.
At seven and a half weeks, she was asked to end the pregnancy, either medically or surgically. But, Wilcox chose to wait.
The next day, a high-risk sonographer reviewed her case, and said, she was “not ready to throw in the towel.” The doctor, referred to as “Auntie Beth,” gave Wilcox reassurance and hope while monitoring her pregnancy.
At eight and a half weeks, Wilcox heard her baby’s heartbeat for the first time. By 10 weeks, all scans came normal. Then, in February 2023, her school went into lockdown during a shooting hoax. While protecting her students, Wilcox stood up and experienced severe bleeding.
She thought she had lost the baby. Upon arriving at the hospital, doctors confirmed Wilcox had suffered a subchorionic hemorrhage, a condition involving bleeding between the uterine wall and placenta.
Luckily, the baby’s heartbeat was absolutely fine. Later, the pregnancy stabilized. An autonomy scan showed the baby had a single umbilical artery and fused kidneys, requiring frequent monitoring.
“There wasn’t a day I wasn’t terrified of losing her,” Wilcox mentioned. But, it was all worth it when her daughter was safely born in September 2023.
And a very cute baby too.
— MoD PR (@MoDPR136425) February 1, 2026
However, the infant “ended up having severe genetic sleep-disordered breathing (SDB),” the woman told People Magazine, which “caused her to stop breathing in her sleep as a newborn several times.”
Studies showed the little one experienced 120 apneic episodes an hour in her sleep, requiring her “to sleep with oxygen every night.”
Speaking about her daughter’s condition, Wilcox said, “I was able to catch it and advocate for her to get further testing for months, even though doctors initially really dismissed me as just being an anxious new mom and dealing with some post-traumatic stress from the pregnancy.”
Recalling the moment of the baby girl’s birth, the woman said, “When they put her on my chest, it was like I took a breath for the first time in nine months.”
Despite the difficult journey, the baby girl is now almost three, healthy, and thriving, even though she needs “a few more doctor’s appointments than the average kid.” She is also “amazing” big sister now.
