Rare but Real: The Tragedy of Hailey Okula and the Truth About AFE

In this heartfelt episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols honors the life and legacy of Hailey Marie Okula—beloved nurse, influencer, and new mother—who tragically passed away from amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) shortly after giving birth.

Hailey’s story, while devastating, has left many women afraid to pursue pregnancy. In this episode, we separate fear from facts by explaining what AFE is, how rare it truly is, and why pregnancy is still overwhelmingly safe for most women.

Dr. Amols walks through the medical reality of AFE, shares real risk statistics, and provides compassionate guidance on how to approach pregnancy with confidence, not fear.

💛 Learn how we can honor Hailey—not just by grieving her loss, but by staying informed, supporting one another, and continuing the journey she shared so openly with the world.

🍼 If you'd like to support Hailey’s family, visit the GoFundMe: Support Firefighter Matt Okula & Baby Crew After Tragic Loss.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of 'Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday' with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode insightful, please share it with friends and family who might benefit from our discussion. Remember, your feedback is invaluable to us – leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred listening platform.

Stay connected with us for updates and fertility tips – follow us on Facebook. For more resources and information, visit our website at www.NewDirectionFertility.com.

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to cover? We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to us at TBFT@NewDirectionFertility.com.

Join us next Tuesday for more discussions on fertility, where we blend medical expertise with a touch of humor to make complex topics accessible and engaging. Until then, keep the conversation going and remember: understanding your fertility is a journey we're on together.

Transcript

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Today we talk about Haey Marie Akula, also known as Nurse Haley, and what are the risk in pregnancy? I'm, Dr. Mark Amols and this is Taco about Fertility Tuesday. Before we dive into today's podcast, I want to take a moment to honor someone whose story has deeply moved myself, the fertility and the nursing community, and whose unexpected passing has sparked a wave of fear and questions among women everywhere. Haley Marie Akula, known online as Nurse Haley, was a 33 year old ER nurse, a mentor to young nurses and a fierce advocate for women's health and a source of hope for anyone struggling with infertility. After a two year personal journey with ivf, she and her husband Matt, a firefighter from la, were overjoyed to welcome their baby boy crew. But tragically, shortly after her delivery, Haley suffered an amniotic fluid embolism. It's a rare but devastating complication and despite the best efforts of the entire medical team, she passed wages hours after becoming a mother. Halileey has touched hundreds, maybe thousands of lives by sharing her journey so openly and authentically. About her fertility journey, she empowered aspiring nurses, comforted women navigating ivf, and reminded us all to keep going even when it'hard Today we honor her legacy by, doing what she did, educating, connecting and supporting each other. Haey's story is not just heartbreaking, it's a reminder of how precious, fragile and interconnected our lives are. Thank you, Haley for educating everyone. I hope I can honor you today by talking about amniotic fluid embolism. What it is, how rare it is, and how we can approach pregnancy with understanding and not fear. May Haley Maria Akula rest in peace and may her courage and compassion continue to inspire us all. If you've been on Instagram or TikTok, you may have seen the name Haey Okola. She was a young influencer, full of life and positivity. Unfortunately, she recently died during childbirth. The cause was reported to be an amniotic fluid embolism, a rare but devastating complication that sometimes happens suddenly, without warning and unfortunately can be deadly. It's important to remember that Haileey's story is not just a headline. She was a real person with a family who loved her, a partner who supported her, and the baby will grow up without her. The reason why I am focusing on this tragedy, although very rare, because it's brought up emotions, especially fear for many women right now, especially those it going through fertility, as Haley herself has her own fertility journey. So let's break this down. Amniotic Fluid embolism, also known as afe, happens when the amniot fluid, or basically the fetal cells, enter the mother's bloodstream. And then what this does is it causes a kind of, like, severe allergic reaction. And what it does is it creates a cascade of events that occur in the human body. These events can cause sudden heart failure, breathing problems, and massive bleeding called dic. And the scary part is it comes without warning. I remember when I was going through residency, this is one of the things that we were taught. And like, most things, you have certain things you do to treat it. So, for example, if blood pressure is high, there are medications for it. Someone'bleeding there are things for it. But this is different. This is one of those things they tell you you hope it never happens to you, because when it does, there really is nothing you can do other than supportive care. There is no test for it. There's no way to predict it. And unfortunately, there's also no way to prevent it. I can assure you it is a scary thing. And even as doctors, we don't want to encounter it. And the good news is it's very rare. And so most physicians will never encounter it. But it's important to understand that they have learned certain maneuvers to do when it happens. Unfortunately, even with these maneuvers and treatments, it doesn't always mean the outcome will be good. So how rare is it? Well, amniotic fluid emlism happens in about 1 in 40,000 births. That's around about 100 cases per year in the entire United States. If you break that into states, that's two people in every state per year. Now, it's also important to understand that not every single person who has AFE is going to have mortality. With modern medical care, the survival rate has improved dramatically, and now mortality is closer to 30% in the United States. This means that in the entire United States, every year, less than 30 people will die from amniotic fluid embolism. Although that's encouraging, it's also why these tragedies hit us so hard. They're unexpected, and they feel very random. And just in case it's not obvious, the word embolism means obstruction of an artery. And this can be from a blood clot. This can also be from air. In the situation of an amniotic fluid embolism, it is both the fluid and the fetal debris that's entering the bloodstream at the time of delivery. There are blood vessels that are exposed. It's important to remember that there's this barrier between the baby and the Mom. Although extremely rare, sometimes that blood and the anc, fluid can go into the maternal system and once it's in the circulation, it could then restrict blood flow, which can then lead to systemic issues. Now, at first thought you would think, well, wouldn't C sections make this more risky? Because now you're cutting into it. And, although more of these occur with C sections, it's not actually causing it, but it's more likely that that's a high risk pregnancy, which also carries more risk complications, which then more likely ends in a C section. About 30 to 40% of amnionic fluid embolisms happen during vaginal births, but it happens between both types of deliveries. So I don't want anyone to think, oh, doing a C section will put me a higher risk. It really doesn't. You have to think of it more like the people who had these when there was a C section already had a somewhat higher risk pregnancy that led to that. So the point is, choosing a vaginal birth doesn't protect you from amniotic fluid embolism, and having a C section doesn't cause it. It's a rare event that can happen in any type of birth. So let's talk about the real numbers. How much should you be concerned? Well, for a healthy woman, the risk of dying for pregnancy or childbirth is about 1 in 10,000. That's 0.01%. Now, this includes all pregnancy related deaths and childbirth, not just childbirth. What's important to understand is that amnioicic fluid embolism is one of the rarest causes of death during pregnancy or childbirth. Now, that number may sound high because we all like to hear numbers like one in a million. But it's important to keep in mind that includes ectopics, as well. And so an undiagnosed ectopic, pregnancy can lead to death. And that would be considered a death from pregnancy. So to put that into perspective, that's about the same risk of dying while scuba diving. It's close to the risk of having a heart attack while running a marathon. Now, it might be higher than the risk of getting shuck by lightning every year, but it's actually safer than the risk of dying in the car accident any given year, which is about 1 in 8,000. Meaning getting pregnant is so low risk that you have more risk of dying in a car crash on your way to your doctor than actually dying your pregnancy or childbirth. The point is, it may be front and center news right now and seem like it's such a high risk, but in reality, the chances are very low of having a death from pregnancy or childbirth. And that's the point when these things are in the news and their front and center. When something tragic happens to someone young, relatable and public, it hits different. Haley Laula death went viral because she was someone people followed, someone they felt they connected to. And when treasury strikes close to the heart, it's easy for fear to take over reason. But fear doesn't give us power. Understanding does. So do you need to be worried? Well, the simple answer is no. While we can't predict amniotic fluid embollism and we can't prevent it, most of the other top causes of maternal death can be managed and can be predicted, such as things like heart disease, blood CA infection, hemorrhage, high blood pressure and preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. That is why prenatal care matters. That's also why advocating for yourself matters too. And that's why building a team of providers you can trust is so important. If there is anything anyone should get from this podcast, it's that having a baby is an amazing thing. And what makes this so hard with Haley is that she also had infertility and they worked so hard to build his family and unfortunately had a tragic accident. She did everything right. She did the prenatal care. But unfortunately, some things can't be prevented. But some can. And that's the reason why you want early prenatal care and you want to surround yourself by a great team. If you're someone who's at higher risk, then you should see a maternal fetal medic doctor. And what they'll do is'look at your situation and make sure to come up with a plan to reduce your risk of harm to yourself, end to your baby. And never be afraid to be an advocate for yourself. If you feel something's not right, go to the doctor. I know sometimes we feel like we're annoying the doctors and when we keep coming to the office, but this is a situation where you always should be an advocate for yourself. And if you think something's not right, let them know. Although that wouldn't work in this situation with Haley, it can potentially work in your situation. Don't dismiss that headache, but, go in and see your doctor. Overall pregnancy is overwhelmingly safe. The chances of having a healthy birth, especially with good care, is extremely high. It's completely understandable if you know about Haley's tragic death to be afraid when you hear stories like hers. But, knowledge is the power you need to know the pregnancy is overwhelmingly safe and that with the right care you can feel confident. So let's honor Haley by being informed, by supporting each other, and by not letting rare tragedies take away our hope. If you're interested in supporting Haleyula's family, There is a GoFundMe campaign to assist her husband Matthew Akula, and her newborn son Crew. The title of the GoFundMe campaign is Support Firefighter Matt Akula and Baby Crew After Tragic Losss. Talk about Fertility Tuesday is going to be making a donation to them and pray for their family. If you know someone who might be afraid of getting pregnant after hearing the coolest story, make sure to let them know about this podcast. Reassure them that pregnancy is safe and by listening this podcast it may help them realize that amniotic embolisms are extremely rare. They are one of the rarest forms of death during pregnancy and that starting early, prenatal care and even seeing a doctor before getting pregnant are the ways that you can help reduce your risk when trying to conceive. As always, if you love this podcast, give us a five star review on your favorite medium. Tell everyone about us. Most of all, keep coming back. I look forward to talking you again next week on Taco About Fetility Tuesday.