Previously, Felix shared that she underwent an emergency C-section after being diagnosed with severe preeclampsia at 32-weeks pregnant. Her daughter spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit before going home. (Preeclampsia is a high blood pressure condition that can affect kidney or liver function, according to the Cleveland Clinic.)
“I really want women to be aware, to know if they’re at risk, to have a plan in place, to not be intimidated in doctor’s offices, and to be heard,” Felix said in a 2021 PSA with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “To know the signs and be persistent about anything that does not feel normal.”
In Bowie’s case, the runner’s pregnancy may have been complicated by possible respiratory distress and eclampsia, which develops from preeclampsia, according to her autopsy obtained by E! News. She was found dead on May 2 in her bed in Florida. Her baby girl, weighing 1.8 pounds and measuring about 16 inches, did not survive, according to an autopsy report.
Bowie’s agent Kimberly Holland touched on the tragedy, telling CBS News on June 14, “I can only imagine now how that must have been.”
“Painful,” Holland continued. “It hurts. Also to know that there’s no baby.”
