Phoenix: A woman died hours after giving birth to quadruplets at an Arizona hospital, a close friend of the family said Saturday. Erica Morales, 36, never got to hold her newborns before she passed away early Friday morning after a C-section surgery at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Nicole Todman said.
Morales was about seven months into her pregnancy when she delivered three girls and one boy Thursday, according to Todman. She has been one of the few able to visit the premature newborns and said they are doing well.
The infants will likely remain hospitalized for the next two months while doctors help them to get stronger and each reach a goal weight of 5 pounds (2.25 million kilograms), Todman said. Currently, they weigh between just above 2 pounds (900 grams) to just above 3 pounds (1.35 kilograms), she said.
Morales was initially hospitalized for high blood pressure. Complications ensued before Morales was taken into surgery, Todman said. She does not know what led to her death.
Hospital spokeswoman Toni Eberhardt declined comment Saturday, but she released a statement from the hospital offering condolences.Morales, a real estate agent, and her husband, Carlos, who works in manufacturing, had been trying to conceive a baby for two years, Todman said. She said Morales tried everything from acupuncture to fertility treatments. Morales suffered a miscarriage before becoming pregnant last June.
On Friday, Todman started a GoFundMe fundraising website for Carlos Morales and the infants on Friday. The site had received more than $15,000 in donations as of Saturday afternoon.
