Woman Says Flesh-Eating Bacteria After C-Section Left Her Near Death
Woman Says Flesh-Eating Bacteria After C-Section Left Her Near Death
Vanessa EtienneThu, November 5, 2026 at 8:34 PM UTC
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Woman in an operating room during a cesarean-sectionCredit: Getty -
Erin Beaulieu said she was discharged after a cesarean section despite severe pain, and she later tested positive for a serious infection
Doctors diagnosed necrotizing fasciitis after she returned to the hospital with worsening symptoms
She underwent multiple surgeries and now lives with chronic pain while seeking answers about her care
A Canadian woman is detailing the moment she nearly died from flesh-eating bacteria that she contracted after giving birth.
After a healthy pregnancy, Erin Beaulieu — a 47-year-old from Ontario, Canada — welcomed her first child, a son, via cesarean section on June 21, 2022. After birth, doctors noticed a “strong odor” from the amniotic fluid, according to her medical records, which were reviewed by The Hamilton Spectator.
Beaulieu was hospitalized for six nights as she recovered from her surgery. During that time, she was in constant “extreme” pain and had reportedly developed a life-threatening condition known as ileus — a type of bowel obstruction where either sections or the entirety of the intestines become obstructed. This blockage can restrict blood flow to organs, resulting in tissue necrosis.
The new mom was vomiting frequently and her stomach was swollen.
“I kept saying, ‘Something’s not right,’ ” she told the outlet. “Everybody that came to visit was like, ‘Whoa, she looks bigger now than she did when she was pregnant. What’s going on here?’ ”
A pregnant woman lies in a hospital bedCredit: Getty
However, Beaulieu alleges she was discharged from the hospital on June 28 without doctors performing a physical exam. Medical records show that the following day, tests came back positive for chorioamnionitis, a serious infection of the placenta and amniotic fluid, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Beaulieu claimed that she wasn’t informed of her diagnosis. “Nobody thought, ‘Give her a quick call. Check up on her,’ ” she said.
About a week later, Beaulieu said her condition worsened and pus started “pouring” out of the C-section incision. “The smell was atrocious,” she recalled. She returned to the hospital on July 5, and after 12 hours of testing, doctors discovered that she had necrotizing fasciitis.
Necrotizing fasciitis — commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria — quickly kills the body’s soft tissue found around muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels, and it can quickly turn lethal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection can be successfully treated with antibiotics and surgery to remove infected tissue, but only if it’s caught early. According to the agency, up to 1 in 5 people with necrotizing fasciitis die from the infection.
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Following her diagnosis, Beaulieu recalled a doctor telling her: “‘Erin, you are this hospital’s sickest patient. If we don’t operate now, you’re going to die.’ ”
Woman lying in a hospital bedCredit: Getty
Beaulieu was rushed into surgery and the infection was so severe that she required a hysterectomy, shattering any hopes of having more children. She also dealt with numerous severe complications that required multiple surgeries and years of wound care.
According to The Hamilton Spectator, Beaulieu’s primary care records call the ordeal a “near-death experience” that left her with permanent damage. She told the outlet that today, she suffers from chronic pain due to the infection and her lower abdomen is deformed due to the gaping wound.
“I looked like a Thanksgiving turkey,” she said. “It looked like stuffing coming out of me.”
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“I’m in agony all the time,” she added. “The PTSD and anxiety is through the roof, and depression. I’m always on edge.”
Beaulieu said she’s sharing her experience now because she still has unanswered questions about whether the life-threatening infection could’ve been prevented. “People need to hear my story,“ she told the outlet. “It was just a disaster.”
“I am angry and sad,” she said. “I can’t wrap my head around why everything happened to me.”
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
