In the middle of the night, Bruce McIntyre III woke up in a fearful sweat. He just had an awful nightmare that his partner Amber Rose Isaac, the soon-to-be mother of his unborn child, had passed away. Thankfully, Amber was sleeping right next to him and reassured him that it was only stress. Bruce had no idea that this dreadful dream would soon become true. 

"It was a sign," he says. "God was trying to prep me for what I was about to deal with."

During pregnancy, Amber developed HELLP syndrome, a severe form of preeclampsia that leads to dysfunction of the maternal liver, kidneys and blood-clotting factors that affects about one to two in 1,000 pregnancies. Without immediate diagnosis and care, HELLP syndrome can threaten the lives of moms and babies. 

"I just remember her asking so many questions, and her questions and concerns were just being brushed off lightly," Bruce says. "The neglect got so bad." 

Amber died on April 21, 2020, after giving birth to her son Elias via cesarean section. She was 26 years old. Friends and family describe her as an intelligent, driven person who had hoped to open her own school one day. 

"Amber was going to be a phenomenal mother," Bruce says, "We were expecting to start the journey of our lives."

bruce and amber

After losing Amber, Bruce was determined to help change health outcomes in pregnancy and postpartum. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate out of any high-income country,[1] and more than 80 percent of these are preventable.[2] Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes than white women, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[3]

To combat this, Bruce launched the saveArose foundation, which aims to dismantle the systemic flaws within the medical system, improve birth equity and bring about better birthing solutions so that all moms can get the prenatal care they deserve.

Fighting substandard prenatal care

From the very first prenatal appointment, Bruce and Amber felt that something was off with the way they were communicated with by the medical staff.

"We felt like we weren't getting the answers from our OB/GYN," he says. "She was asking me, 'Are you two married?'"

As the pregnancy progressed, Bruce decided to seek additional opinions. He sent all of Amber’s medical records to a midwife, who called the next day quite concerned. 

"She told us that Amber was very high risk and that her platelets had been deteriorating," he says. "She didn't understand why Amber wasn't being seen and treated immediately." 

Platelets — the tiny, disc-shaped bits of cell found in blood — are especially important during pregnancy as they help bind blood cells together to form clots and therefore prevent unnecessary bleeding. A low platelet count, along with elevated liver enzymes and kidney dysfunction, is a hallmark sign of HELLP syndrome. 

Taking things into their own hands, the couple switched hospitals. (Experts say that it is never too late to switch care providers. While most OB/GYNS meet a new patient before they are 20 weeks pregnant, doctors take circumstances into account when deciding to bring on a new patient closer to their due date.)

More blood work confirmed what they had suspected: Amber had HELLP syndrome, and she would need to deliver right away. 

Undergoing a sudden delivery

As the primary treatment for HELLP syndrome is immediate delivery of the baby, hospital staff recommended Amber undergo an emergency C-section a month before her due date. 

"They said that she would be back in 20 minutes, but 20 minutes turned into two hours and three hours turned into four,” Bruce explains. Then he heard over the intercom that emergency medical staff was needed in the room where Amber was having her surgery.

While their son Elias safely made an early entrance into the world, Amber, sadly, did not survive. The average platelet count around delivery is 217,000 per cubic millimeters.[4] By the time Amber had entered the hospital, her levels measured around 40,000.

"Her blood was not clotting," Bruce says. "Her blood was water-like."

Seeking better care and community

"When you lose someone that close to you, it feels like you hit rock bottom, and when you hit rock bottom, the only way from there is up," Bruce says. "A piece of you dies with your partner, but it's also a time and a space where you can recreate yourself."

After Amber's death, Bruce started the saveArose foundation to not only to empower mothers on their birthing journeys, but also to encourage fathers to learn about potential risk factors. 

The name is inspired by "the members of our community — the roses that grew from concrete," he says. "It also stood for saving Amber Rose, because I knew that what was done to her was unjust, and I knew that something needed to be done."

Bruce shared Amber's story in the 2022 award-winning documentary Aftershock, which follows Bruce and Omari Maynard, who also lost his partner, Shamony Gibson, to postpartum complications. The film follows their work seeking justice through legislation and community. 

These days, Bruce and saveArose are working to open a birthing center in the Bronx that will provide accessible, patient-centered care and empower parents. 

"We shouldn't be scared of the birthing process," Bruce says. "Fathers should be well educated on how to take care of their partners and children. It's going to create a better world for all of us if we do so for our expecting mothers."

Share your birthing story with the hashtag #BumpDay and call your representatives to pass the Momnibus Act that addresses critical improvements to maternal care. Help us ensure that every expecting parent receives the health care they need and deserve.