Unvaccinated pregnant nurse and unborn child die of COVID in Alabama

A family in Alabama is in mourning after an unvaccinated mother died of COVID-19 after losing her unborn child to the same disease.

Nurse Haley Mulkey Richardson, 32, was enrolled in the labor and delivery unit at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, according to Alabama.com.

Richardson, who lived in Theodore with her husband Jordan and young daughter Katie, contracted COVID-19 about three weeks before his death in late July or early August, a friend – Jason Whatley – told the store.

The mother-of-one was not vaccinated against the virus because she feared she might suffer from life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and after hearing unfounded claims the vaccine could affect fertility.

Richardson’s mother, Julie Mulkey, told Alabama.com: “Haley has had anaphylactic reactions in the past. So for that reason she felt it was not safe for her.

“And then, of course, with all the negative reporting that took place, what was she to believe about what the vaccine would do to the breeding ground?

“Stuff about that would destroy a female’s eggs and that sort of thing, and she wanted to have her second baby. It scared her to have it.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people who are or may become pregnant get vaccinated against COVID-19 and added that there is “currently no evidence” that the vaccine causes problems. fertility in women or men.

Richardson lost the unborn child, named Ryleigh Beth, on August 18 when she was about six months pregnant and died on August 20.

“It’s really hard. It’s hard to accept, it’s hard to face. We are happy that she is no longer in pain,” Mulkey said.

Whatley added: “After about three or four days in the hospital, the [obstetrician] told her she was going to lose the baby. And it just kept getting worse. “

He continued, “At one point, they basically told him that we have to start treating you like you don’t have a child. We have to do what we can for you because the baby is going to be over. way .”

Richardson was then transferred to USA Health Hospital for Children and Women in Mobile, where she was unable to receive any visits.

Mulkey told the outlet, “Haley called me crying, that she was going to lose the baby. And that she was there all alone when it happened.”

Richardson shared a final post on Facebook on August 9 where she said: “Here in the dark, in the wee hours of the morning, it’s so easy to pretend this was all just a nightmare or that I’m right here. in that hospital bed due to my own issues with COVID.

“There is nothing wrong with my sweet little girl I thought I was protecting in my own womb. I know the prognosis and I know the reality. And while one part of me may begin to recognize it, the other part of me still believes God is still the God of miracles and controls above all else.

She concluded, “I hope and pray for miracles, but having said that I also pray that his will be done. it is now.”

Mulkey told Alabama.com that she, Haley Richardson’s husband Jordan, Katie and Jordan’s mother Donna were able to say goodbye to him.

After Richardson’s death, Jordan said in a public Facebook post: “Words cannot describe the devastation I feel, so I won’t try to explain it. I know you and Katie are watching over me now. and will continue to guide us on our way.

“I love you so much and will love you always. So it’s just a goodbye to your earthly life but I know that someday I will be able to say hello to your heavenly being, and that day will be the happiest of all my life. life. So until then, know that I love you with all that I am. “

Whatley congratulated Richardson in a GoFundMe fundraiser for Jordan and Katie, where he described her as “easy to like”.

He added, “Her spirit lit up every room she walked into, her laughter brought celebration anytime, and her heart – her heart was so pure, and so kind, and also loving and so selfless. than anyone you’ve ever known or we’ll never see each other again. “

He raised $ 19,050 out of a total of $ 20,000 on Tuesday morning.

Since the start of the pandemic, Alabama has lost 12,000 people to COVID-19, according to data collected by the New York Times.

News week has contacted Jordan Richardson and Whatley for comment.