Mom-to-be had 2 signs of rare complication: "Everything kept getting worse"
Candice Davis' first pregnancy was going smoothly until she began feeling some nausea and pain one afternoon.
August 15, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News
Candice Davis had been pleasantly surprised by the ease of her first pregnancy. Her checkups were always clear, and she had few symptoms — until June 14, 2025, 11 days before her due date.
The day started normally, but as the hours passed, Davis began to feel nauseous while sitting by her pool. Eventually, it shifted to upper abdominal pain. Her husband was insistent that she go to the hospital. Davis resisted at first. She worked as a recruiter for an OB-GYN, and felt she would know if something was seriously wrong. But when her friend and OB-GYN Dr. Susan Passarella also urged her to go to the ER, she gave in.
At the obstetric emergency department at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida , tests showed Davis' blood pressure was elevated. Her doctors decided to keep her overnight. Then things escalated quickly.
Davis' pain increased sharply. Her blood pressure kept rising. Her liver enzymes skyrocketed. Within two hours of her arrival, her care team wanted to induce labor. Davis had hoped to have a natural birth. But "everything kept getting worse," she said, and the decision was made to deliver her baby via cesarean section.
"And thank goodness we did," Davis said. "I was in a lot of pain. They ended up giving me an epidural to help with the pain in the upper abdomen, which did not even touch it. I just remember I was scared. I physically knew that I could not birth my son naturally. I couldn't even sit up. I was scared, but there was just so much going on."