Ashley McAfee

On August 29, 2025, 7lbs changed my whole world. Sophia Kathleen Fenyus-McAfee made her dramatic debut into our lives, and I never imagined that my experience delivering my daughter would solidify, once again, how important the work is that March of Dimes does. 

An induction for decreased fetal movement turned into 44 long hours of labor. Unfortunately, we both took a turn for the worst. Every mom-to-be has an idea in their head of what their delivery would be like, but an emergency c-section was never something I considered would happen to me. Before being rushed into the OR, I heard my spouse say to our OB: "Please let her come out of this alive." 

Sophia coded when she was delivered, with two cords wrapped around her neck. Her Apgar Score was only 3. After being resuscitated and with a fever and an infection, she was taken to the NICU while I recovered from my own complications. Two hospital readmissions (one for fluid overload in my heart and lungs and a second for post-partum preeclampsia), a brief stay at Children's Hospital, and many doctor appointments later - we were home for good. 

My pregnancy was routine. I had no complications prior to delivery. I had been healthy, and so had she. I am forever grateful to my OB team, the nurses, OR team, NICU team, and the plethora of others who stepped in when things weren't going the way we planned. The work March of Dimes does is so important, because things do not always go the way you plan. 

There is nothing like being a mom. Waking up every morning to her smiling face is the joy of my life, and I'm so grateful we were lucky enough to get to the other side both healthy and happy. Not everyone has that luxury, and it's why the work I'll do today, tomorrow, and the rest of the days is oh-so-important.