With medical advances, many of the dangerous variables in having a baby have been eliminated. But not all of them.
Shortly after Jacob Shambo came home from the hospital, his parents realized something was wrong.
"He started becoming lethargic and somewhat unresponsive," Kim Shambo, the baby's mother, said.
Doctors soon discovered that Jacob had a metabolic disorder. But it was too late: the baby was brain-dead.
"We had to make a decision to let him go and we were able to hold him while his
life-support was terminated," his mother said.
Jacob's parents found out that his condition could have been discovered at birth in an expanded newborn screenings, something that Jacob didn't get, and that isn't even offered at most hospitals.
At Children's Hospital of Michigan it's only required by the state to give basic newborn screenings.
"The state is currently checking for seven different disorders," said Children's Hospital's Dr. Mary Bedard.
"It allows us to detect a certain number of diseases before the baby shows any symptoms," said Bedard.
But the hospital is not required to give babies expanded screenings, something that could have saved Jacob.
Now his parents are on a mission to make expanded screenings mandatory.
"Just the thought of another family suffering as we did, and knowing what we know, we can't sit back and do nothing," Shambo said.
Kim and Eric Shambo have made it their mission to educate hospitals and parents about expanded screenings, and they've set up a foundation in their son's memory called the Jacob Foundation.
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