For most moms-to-be, pregnancy is a time of hope, joy, and imagining all the first moments with their baby.
But for 29-year-old Katherine “Katt” Campbell, that dream was shattered in an instant — and what came next would force her to make a decision no parent should ever have to face.
From mild unease to sheer panic
As mentioned, becoming a mom is supposed to be one of life’s greatest joys — dreaming about tiny outfits, nursery decorations, and all the firsts to come.
“Katherine ‘Katt’ Campbell, 29, from Ontario, Canada, was feeling exactly that excitement and anticipation. She was overjoyed when she learned she was pregnant in 2023.
“I was thrilled to expand our family once more,” she told Newsweek.
Everything seemed normal until February 27, 2024 — a day that would change her life forever. At 35 weeks and four days, Campbell remembers feeling “discomfort, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for an almost-36-week pregnancy.”
After dropping her 2-year-old son off at daycare, she went out to buy more baby clothes and then headed home to relax. But suddenly, Katt’s discomfort skyrocketed, turning from mild unease to sheer panic.
”I remember texting my mom around 11 a.m. and told her I wasn’t feeling well. I decided that, if I still felt unwell when my husband got home, we would go to the hospital and get checked,” she says.
By the time she arrived at the hospital, she was on the verge of blacking out from blood loss. Doctors found she was nearly 4 centimeters dilated, but locating her baby’s heartbeat proved difficult — and when they finally did, it was dangerously low at just 55 beats per minute.
Lincoln Zachary
Lincoln Zachary was born via an emergency C-section at 2:32 p.m., weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces.
Campbell had suffered a concealed placental abruption, a rare complication where the placenta detaches from the uterus, cutting off oxygen and nutrients to the baby. “It was basically an episode of Grey’s Anatomy,” Campbell said.
She required intubation and multiple blood transfusions, while Lincoln was placed on life support.
Her husband, Corey, arrived to find Campbell in the ICU and their newborn on a ventilator. The husband insisted that Katt be awakened before any decision about Lincoln’s life was made, a choice for which Katt would be eternally grateful.
When Katt awoke at 7 p.m., surrounded by her husband, parents, sister, and best friend Natasha — who would also be Lincoln’s godmother — she faced a heartbreak no parent should ever endure.
Communicating through writing while intubated, Campbell made the devastating choice to remove Lincoln’s ventilator at 7:29 p.m. He passed away on her chest at 8:52 p.m.
“Six hours and 20 minutes would never be enough time, but it’s all we got to have,” Campbell said. “I knew my son would never recover, so I couldn’t bear to let him suffer any longer. Being intubated myself while having to make this decision was gut-wrenching. All I wanted to do was scream, and I literally couldn’t.”
Why she shares her story
The grief has stayed with Campbell ever since. She sought therapy to work through the trauma and returned to work after five months to find some semblance of normalcy. Now, she shares her story on TikTok, connecting with other women who have experienced stillbirth, miscarriage, or complications like placental abruption.
Stillbirth is heartbreakingly common, affecting roughly 1 in every 175 births. That adds up to around 21,000 babies lost each year in the United States alone — 21,000 families forced to face a grief no parent should ever endure, with all the hopes, dreams, and everyday moments that come with raising a child ripped away in an instant.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Lincoln and the life-shattering choice I had to make,” Campbell said. She hopes sharing her story will raise awareness about the signs of placental abruption.
”Too perfect for this world”
“I never want to scare people, rather, raise awareness of what could happen. Even the doctors said my placenta ruptured in seconds; it was catastrophic immediately, and it was concealed, meaning no blood came out of my body. If something ever feels off, get checked. I wish I knew something was wrong before it was too late. Lincoln has taught me to never take anything for granted, because I know how quickly it can be ripped away.”
On the first anniversary of Lincoln’s passing, his father Corey shared a deeply emotional post on Facebook to honor his son.
“Dear Lincoln. It’s been 1 year since I got the privilege of putting my eyes on you, holding you, and saying see you soon. You are one of my greatest accomplishments, if only for a brief moment. Some of the sweetest and most painful moments of my life, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I think of you, and Mommy thinks of you, every moment, in quite literally every way. We all do. I’m blessed to have held an angel that was too perfect for this world, and to be there when you grew wings. Wish it wasn’t so soon, wish it wasn’t so quick and wish we got to build more memories. You have changed many hearts in this world in such a small amount of time. We carry you with us, every day, forever. We will never forget you…Couldn’t if I tried. Love you buddy.”
I must say it takes incredible strength for parents to share such a heartbreaking experience. The pain of going through something like this is unimaginable, but by telling their story, Katt and Corey are giving other parents in similar situations a sense of comfort and reminding them that they are not alone.
Talking about these kinds of losses is never easy, but it’s so important that everyone is allowed to grieve in their own way. Katt and Corey have chosen to share their journey, and all we can do is send them love, support, and our best wishes as they continue to navigate life without their precious Lincoln.