Australian influencer and model Leah Ramsey, known online as Leah Jay, has lost her infant daughter following a high-risk pregnancy, which led to the mum needing open-heart surgery.
Ramsey shared the “devastating” news in an emotional Instagram post with her husband Michael Ramsey. The post showed her and her husband cradling their daughter while sitting side by side in a hospital bed.
Australian influencer Leah Ramsey has lost her infant daughter following a high-risk pregnancy Instagram/@Leahramsey
She wrote a heartfelt caption along with the photo, writing: “Our daughter. Rowe 🕊️”
“The strongest little girl we will never get to know. You made it through infections and multiple surgeries, even when the odds were against you. But it just wasn’t your time.”
“We are absolutely devastated. Rest peacefully. Love always, Mum, Dad and your big brother Reeves.”
Fellow influencers and friends of the couple commented their words of support.
MAFS alum Martha Kalifatidis, who also recently gave birth, commented: “Oh Leah, I’m so sorry my girl! This is devastating. Thinking of you all and sending love.”
Rebecca Judd wrote: “I’m so sorry my love. Absolutely heartbroken for your family. You have endured so much.”
The family have been through a tough few months, with Ramsey, who lives in Texas, needing open heart surgery while pregnant after doctors discovered a blood clot in her leg in February.
She posted about her health journey on Instagram, sharing with her fans that she initially went to the hospital to seek care for her “swollen, painful leg”, which turned out to be a blood clot requiring emergency surgery to remove.
The family have been through a tough few months, with Ramsey needing open heart surgery while pregnant in February. Instagram/@leahjay
But it was what caused the blood clot that was more sinister, with doctors discovering an infection in her heart that had been inside her body for a year, causing inflammation, illness, and eventually, the clot.
“I kept thinking it was just bad luck, pregnancy symptoms, or that I needed to push through it,” she said in a post dated January 27.
“But my body was trying to tell me something much bigger.”
Soon after, she and her husband Michael were told she needed to transfer to Austin’s top heart surgery hospital, after doctors discovered a strep infection in her blood, which created a large bacterial growth on her mitral valve.
The solution the doctors landed on was open heart surgery for the valve to be removed and replaced, which lasts four to six hours and would require the pregnant mother’s heart to be stopped for 80 minutes.
Leah Jay had been sharing pregnancy and health updates on her Instagram Instagram/@Leahjay
In preparation, the parents saw their baby girl on the ultrasound screen, which Leah described as “the highlight of my week.
“The little heartbeat and tiny movements gave me the strength I needed.”
Two days after her surgery, she said she was in “an incredible amount of pain”.
“Covered in tubes. I’ve never experienced pain like this before,” she said.
She added she is unable to stand up and walk around to begin her physical recovery due to being unable to put pressure on the leg that received surgery to remove the blood.