BRINK OF EXISTENCE: Mom’s Near-Death Experience After Birth Delivery

Fear is contagious, and death is unavoidable, but people who have near-death experiences (NDE) frequently realize how tenuous their hold on life is and how quickly and easily it can slip away.

For some, NDE represents a poetic notion that death is a passage rather than an end, just as birth is a fresh beginning, yet having a near-death experience indicates someone has been given an opportunity that most other people have not.

Because even if death is the end of life as we know it, we would all like to live again or see the miraculous recovery of a loved one before it's too late. Although they survived to tell the story, there is a lot to wonder about and reflect upon these encounters as they wander between life and death.

Jhoi Zepeda recounted the unbelievable moments following her near-death experience because of her first childbirth, despite being under the most precarious conditions.

“During my 31st week of pregnancy, I felt the weakness of my knees to the point that I had already collapsed. As a first-time mom, I don't know what to feel; that's why we decided to have a checkup,” Zepeda said.

“There was no ultrasound scheduled at the clinic where I was having regular checkups that day, so we went to a new facility for the first time. We performed an ultrasound, and the baby is active and healthy. Then, the doctor prescribed medications for relieving the weakness in my knees, but the worst thing happened,” she added.

Zepeda revealed that after just two days of use, she experienced stomach pain. Since she frequently throws up after eating, they made the decision to go back to the clinic, where she receives routine checkups. At that time, she was confined because she had an open cervix during her early pregnancy.

“My tummy kept contracting less than 24 hours into my confinement, and the baby may come out at any time. However, since it's merely a lying-in clinic, they don't have enough equipment. Finding a hospital that would accept me was one of the difficulties we faced, because the pandemic has also made hospitals even more stringent,” she shared.

In the grand scheme of things, her prayers have been answered because Delgado Memorial Hospital let her get admitted.

On the night of May 24, 2021, the obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) decided to conduct a C-section because the baby's movements had slowed down in her womb.

But the ordeal isn’t over yet for Jhoi’s life because after her successful cesarean delivery, also known as a C-section, she became unconscious.

She said that when she was being transferred to the recovery room, she became unresponsive to the nurses and physicians, regardless of the pain she was experiencing at that time.

“My heart rate and blood pressure gradually increased, prompting them to perform intubation and bringing me to the intensive care unit (ICU) for close monitoring.”

“I have no idea how many hours I was unconscious, and I am unable to recall the events up to this point. The doctors also informed my spouse that my chances of waking up are only 3% out of 10%,” she added.

She shared that God is so kind because she awoke after just a few hours in the ICU. Although nothing is clear, she was looking for her husband when she opened her eyes.

“I stayed in the ICU for 11 days, and there were both good and horrible days. The physician thought I was fully recovered until I experienced temporary blindness, seizures, and fever. But still, God renewed my strength when my vital signs steadily recovered, and I was already moved to a regular room,” she stated.

Three years have passed, yet she has had to use every ounce of her strength—not just mental and physical, but also spiritual—to recover from that painful experience.

Her composed and heartfelt testimony offers a glimpse into the spiritual realm and a message of hope to others. Like Jhoi’s story, NDEs serve as a reminder to live each day mindfully even in the darkest moments.

Jhoi's first born baby crying at birth could represent the shock or bewilderment of starting a new life, and her heart-pounding birth story embodies a cyclical vision of existence in which life and death are transitions rather than endings, and survival is based on faith rather than fate.

Larriezel Morada is the News Feature Editor of 4079 Magazine. A fourth-year BA Journalism student in PUP-Manila and the former Associate Editor of The Communicator, the official campus publication of PUP College of Communication. She is a former ABS-CBN News Digital intern and contributed various news articles covering beats such as lifestyle, sports, entertainment and regions.