Nurse Influencer Hailey Okula Tragically Dies After Childbirth — Husband Shares Details
The new mom had struggled with infertility for years.
Published April 4 2025, 11:27 a.m. ET
A husband is left reeling, and a new baby is left without a mom after nursing influencer Hailey Okula — better known as Nurse Hailey to her followers — died unexpectedly. The tragedy struck just minutes after Okula welcomed her first child with her husband, Matthew. Now, the widow is going public about what was behind Nurse Hailey's cause of death.
Sadly, her life was lost due to a fairly uncommon pregnancy complication that has no known cure. Keep reading to learn more about Nurse Hailey and what her husband says he wants the world to know after losing the mother of his child and love of his life.
Nurse Hailey's husband Matthew has revealed her cause of death.
The bereaved new dad talked to a local affiliate of Fox News called Fox 11 Los Angeles on April 3, 2025, telling them what had caused his wife's untimely death just days before.
According to Matthew, the new mom was in the hospital delivering their baby via C-section when she went into cardiac arrest. The heart attack was caused by something called an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), which literally struck out of nowhere.
The Cleveland Clinic describes AFE as both "dangerous and life-threatening," noting that it typically occurs either during labor or directly after giving birth. It happens when the amniotic fluid that is present in the uterus enters the mother's blood stream. This fluid is made up of water and a bit of cells and tissues from the baby.
Some people can have an allergic reaction to this mixture once it hits their blood stream, causing devastating results.
"There’s no treatment," Matthew told reporters about the AFE. "There’s no way of diagnosing it. It’s just so sad to think that other people have to go through what I’m going through right now.”
The Cleveland Clinic notes that this complication is exceedingly rare, and it will only affect 1 in every 40,000 deliveries.
Nurse Hailey struggled with infertility for years.
The beloved wife and mother was over the moon when she found out she was pregnant, and she detailed her thoughts and feelings in a Sept. 17, 2025, pregnancy announcement. According to her Instagram post, she and her husband had tried to conceive for almost two years, during which time they tried IVF, which finally allowed them to achieve their dreams.
Of course, Nurse Hailey knew just how special it was for her to get pregnant at all, and she humbly shared that alongside her happy news.
"I realize this is not always the outcome for people that have to go through IVF, so I am so grateful and blessed that our first transfer stuck," she wrote in her pregnancy announcement post. "I remember watching church one day with the message of 'God knows, you don’t' and nothing has helped me more throughout this process."
This tragedy has generated an outpouring of support for the Okula family.
A GoFundMe that was set up on behalf of the family, including Nurse Hailey's new baby boy Crew, has already reached $338,779, and it shows no signs of slowing down. We can't imagine what the Okula family is going through right now, but hopefully knowing just how many other people are grieving this loss will help them feel less alone.