Baby girl lives 2 hours in parents' arms before passing away

Kentucky (WTXF) - A miscarried baby lived in her parents' arms for two hours before passing away. It’s a moment Scarlett’s parents, Alyssa and Justin, will cherish forever.

Alyssa’s love for children started at a very young age.

“For as long as I can remember, I've always said that I wanted to be a mother. In fact, I remember being very teeny and telling my great aunt that I couldn't wait to have babies. I told her I was going to have lots of them. My love for children has always been present. Never fading, never weakening,” Alyssa Young told FOX 29.

Similar to Alyssa, Scarlett's father, Justin, has always wanted to be a daddy. He never wanted to be like the other kids who dreamed of being a firefighter or superhero. He just wanted to be a daddy.

Justin and Alyssa met almost 6 years ago. They knew immediately that we were in love and wanted to spend forever together. Almost right away, they talked about getting married and having children of their own.

When Alyssa took a pregnancy test and it came out positive she wept with joy. The expecting parents were thrilled with the news. They called everyone they knew to tell them the exciting news. But in the back of their minds, they knew the pregnancy was high risk due to Alyssa having type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, acute fatty liver disease, a benign Optic glioma (brain tumor) and cerebral palsy.

The couple decided they were going to name their baby Scarlett, which Alyssa said  "was fit for a queen." When Alyssa had a routine ultrasound, baby Scarlett was perfect. She weighed in at 14 ounces and had a heart rate of 131, according to Alyssa.

"I was 19 weeks, 6 days and she was just my pride and joy. Though we already knew the gender, I made them double check. The doctor joked that she was a boy. I about fainted. I freaked out, then he reassured me that she was 100% girl," she explained.

Though Scarlett was healthy and doing phenomenal, Alyssa said she noticed something strange.

"The doppler that the tech had on my stomach caused quite a bit of discomfort. It was more than usual. I just blamed it on the life growing inside me and my body changing. After the appointment, the pain progressed and was accompanied by back pain as well. I had had trouble with Sciatic Nerve pain, so again, I blamed my sweet, stubborn girl. As the pain worsened, I then felt as if it was "tummy troubles". Since becoming pregnant, I had a really bad time with that. With my organs pressing up against each other, I again, figured it was just pregnancy pain."

Alyssa went to see her PCP who told her that she was experiencing "round ligament pain" and could have tummy troubles as well. Alwas told to get some generic medicine to fix her problem but to call her obstetrician before taking it to make sure it was safe. She did as she directed. Alyssa called his office and expressed her concern.

A few days later, she was taken to the emergency room in her hometown because she was still in pain and having minor bleeding. According to Alyssa, the doctors said Scarlett was perfect, so them sent us home.

A day later, the couple went to the hospital.

"When we arrived at the hospital, the kind nurses made sure I was comfortable. Once I was settled in, the on-call obstetrician came in to do an exam. He told us that I was either suffering from incompetent cervix or my body was trying to miscarry our beautiful baby girl," Alyssa said.

The doctor told her that with incompetent cervix, they could normally perform a procedure to put a stitch in to keep the cervix closed. However, in Alyssa’s case it wouldn’t make a difference, and might prevent her from getting pregnant again.

According to Alyssa, the doctor opted out. He said he wouldn't risk the procedure, but he was ready to do whatever it took to save their child.

“He performed an ultrasound to be sure Scarlett was okay and she was. She was a perfectly healthy, gorgeous baby. I prayed everything would be. I prayed harder than I ever have in my entire life," said Alyssa.

He demanded Alyssa stay on strict bed rest.  Alyssa was given magnesium in an attempt to keep her from dilating any further.

"That night seemed very long. I tossed and turned, prayed and thought. I begged God for everything to be okay. She was our blessing and I couldn't stand think of losing her," Alyssa explained.  “I don’t really remember what time they came in to check on me, but I know it was early. The ultrasound showed I was dilated to 5 centimeters and Scarlett was basically on her way to meet us…I felt like I had failed. I felt like I failed him and our daughter. All I could spit out was 'I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.' I must have repeated that a dozen times. We both cried and prayed, prayed and cried. We called our family and close friends to tell them the news. We told them that it’d be a good idea to come to the hospital. We were surrounded by so much love that day. So many prayers, and so much love filled that hospital room.”

Scarlett Faye Young was born October 4th, 2016 at 1:53 pm. Her gestation age was 20 weeks and 5 days. She weighed 15.3 ounces and measured 11 inches long.

"She was perfection. She was very well-developed, and the most perfect combination between her father and I. She holds a special place in our hearts. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her. My little girl yesterday, my angel today, my daughter forever," Alyssa said.

Scarlett survived for just two hours. In those two hours, she was held by her loving family. She was cuddled, kissed, hugged, and loved. She went peacefully.

Alyssa says the point of her story isn't to make those feel sorry for her or her family, but she wants to help raise awareness for incompetent cervix.

"Even those who have lost their little ones too soon for other reasons. We need to stand together and fight for our babies."

October is Child Loss Awareness Month. A Facebook page has been setup for families experiencing loss.