After his wife died because of complications from pregnancy, a newly single dad is urging pregnant women to listen to their bodies. Jasmine Patton was just 34 years old when she died on September 30, two days after giving birth to her daughter, Emery. Her husband, Edgar Patton, said his wife wasn't feeling well during her pregnancy, and doctors apparently told Jasmine it was all normal.
Edgar Patton told Good Morning America that he and his wife were on an infertility journey when his wife became pregnant with Emery through IVF. He never imagined he would be on the journey's second leg parenting his daughter alone.
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Jasmine Patton was apprehensive about the delivery.
According to her husband, the mom-to-be worked as a nurse practitioner and was nervous about giving birth. He explained to Good Morning America that his wife was knowledgeable and particularly concerned about the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates of Black women.
"She was worried about being a good mom and she was worried about giving birth," Edgar Patton told the morning show. "She would watch TikTok videos of some woman having complications, and she was worried about having those complications."
Her pregnancy wasn't easy.
Jasmine Patton had extreme morning sickness during her pregnancy as well as shortness of breath and fatigue, Good Morning America reported. As her pregnancy neared the end, Edgar Patton said he saw concerning changes in her.
"She was more tired than what she normally was. She got to a point where she couldn't eat. All she did was sleep," he told the news program. "And it got to a point where she couldn't go to work."
Doctors allegedly told her that what she was feeling was normal.
Edgar Patton said Jasmine was at the point in her pregnancy where she was seeing her doctor every week, and even though she brought up her concerns, they were reportedly dismissed.
"She was doing her weekly visits at this point," he explained. "And what she was told was, 'It's part of pregnancy.'"
But something was not normal, and Jasmine Patton was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance on September 28, delivering their daughter under anesthesia during an emergency C-section. She died two days later, never meeting Emery.
Jasmine Patton died from a rare but severe pregnancy complication.
Edgar Patton told Good Morning America that she died from acute fatty liver of pregnancy.
"It was very unexpected," he said, adding that his wife had no pre-existing complications. "There are a lot of question marks that doctors are trying to figure out."
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disorder is rare and affects 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 pregnancies.
"Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a rare, but serious, condition that can cause liver failure, as well as other life-threatening complications. It happens when too much fat builds up in your liver when you're pregnant. It's a medical emergency and involves delivering the fetus as soon as possible," the clinic's website explains.
Edgar Patton told Good Morning America that, in retrospect, his wife had symptoms of the disease, which include everything from nausea and vomiting to fatigue, confusion, and headaches.
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The heartbroken father wants his daughter to know all about her mom.
With the help of his parents and mother-in-law, Edgar Patton plans to raise Emery with a loving family who will honor mother's memory.
"I want her to know everything about her mom — who she was, her personality, her love, most definitely, how much she wanted to have a baby and how excited she was when we finally did get pregnant," he said. "I just want her to know her mom really loved her and she was ready to be a mom…. She was scared but she was ready."
The widower reminded all women to listen to their bodies and talk to their doctors.
"If you feel something is not right, regardless of what they tell you is normal or is common, if you feel it's not right, it's always OK to get a second opinion. That's the biggest thing," he expressed.
Friends of Jasmine put together a GoFundMe page for Emery's future. A post on the page reads in part, "We, Jasmine's work family, would still like to find a way to support their family through this loss. On behalf of her family, we would like to start a college fund for Baby Emery. Jasmine believed in bettering herself through education and was a nurse practitioner. We would love to help Baby Emery achieve her future goals."
The fundraiser has surpassed its original goal of $20,000, raising nearly $26,000 thus far.
