A woman who was declared ‘clinically dead’ for 14 minutes stunned doctors when she woke up to find she had given birth to a baby girl.
Natasha Sokunbi, 37 weeks pregnant, had been experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath, prompting her to call 111 for advice. She was instructed to go to the hospital.
Upon arriving at Royal Stoke University Hospital by taxi, Natasha collapsed in the waiting room from a cardiac arrest.
As doctors worked to revive her, they also focused on saving her unborn baby. Natasha was quickly rushed into surgery, where her baby was delivered by emergency c-section just four minutes later.
Hospital staff spent more than 30 minutes resuscitating Natasha before placing her in an induced coma. The following day, she awoke to the surprising news that she had given birth during her near-death experience. Her daughter, whom she named Beau, was safely delivered.
Natasha explained, “My heart had stopped when the doctors delivered Beau. I was essentially dead when they took her out.”
“One team of medics was performing the C-section while another team was doing CPR on me,” Natasha recalled. “The next thing I remember was waking up in intensive care, and my husband came over with a photo of Beau, saying, ‘It’s a girl.’
“We hadn’t found out the sex, so it was a complete surprise. I couldn’t see Beau right away because I was still very weak, and she was in the neonatal unit, but I finally got to see her a few days later.
“I was really unwell, but the doctors and medical teams were incredible. They told me I’d been clinically dead for 14 minutes. They saved both my baby and me.”
Natasha, 30, and her husband Ayo, 29, had been preparing for the arrival of their second child when Natasha collapsed in A&E on December 3.
She hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks due to a chest infection, and on the day of the incident, she took a taxi to the hospital after calling 111.
Natasha recalls collapsing in the waiting room, falling forward onto her baby bump, and remembers the doctors performing CPR.
She also remembers feeling pain during the C-section, but then everything went black.
Ayo, who had been taking care of their other daughter, Love, received a call from the hospital. Initially, he thought they were telling him the baby had been born.
Natasha believes she had heart problems and thinks the pregnancy added extra strain, but she’s incredibly grateful to the doctors for saving her and Beau. She praised the hospital staff as “all fantastic” for keeping her alive and helping deliver her “miracle” daughter.
In recognition of their swift actions, the medical team involved in Natasha and Beau’s care was awarded the Chief Executive Award. Dr. Andrew Bennett described it as “one of the proudest moments this department has ever seen.”
