About AFE Foundation

The AFE Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 that quickly united the voices of families, survivors, medical professionals, and researchers to call for greater awareness and resources to reduce the threat of amniotic fluid embolism (AFE). Our collective efforts have resulted in an internationally recognized research program on AFE, highly sought-after educational programming for healthcare providers, and a worldwide network of support groups and resources for those impacted by an AFE.

We are committed to identifying the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of amniotic fluid embolism and to bringing our information and resources to healthcare providers and impacted families through our education and support programs. We also strive to be the light guiding those impacted by an AFE through their physical and emotional recovery as they navigate their way forward.

Our Mission

Reduce maternal and infant mortality attributed to amniotic fluid embolism while helping those impacted navigate paths forward.

Our Vision

Amniotic fluid embolism no longer threatens lives and those with lived experiences thrive.

Our Story

Over the Years

July 2008

July 2008

Founded by AFE survivor, we became the only organization in the world dedicated to Amniotic Fluid Embolism.

August 2008

August 2008

World’s foremost AFE experts pledge their support and participation.

March 2009

March 2009

Launches website and support groups. Now, site visits reach 40,000 a year and 1,000+ in our support groups.

October 2009

October 2009

First fundraiser event sets financial foundation and inspires more events.

February 2010

February 2010

Begins presenting AFE education and simulation at large conferences in U.S.

March 2011

March 2011

Adopts March 27th as AFE Awareness Day to honor families and lived ones lost to AFE.

October 2012

October 2012

Appointed to the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) Executive Board, a multi-stakeholder organization founded at Stanford University that leads the development of safety quality standards and improvement efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in CA.

August 2013

August 2013

Launches global AFE Patient Registry. Quickly becomes most comprehensive study of AFE in the world.

March 2015

March 2015

Awareness campaign spans the globe reaching 500,000 in over 80 countries.

July 2016

July 2016

Appointed to the prestigious Council for Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists which joins partners, subspecialties, and patient organizations together with the goal of improving health care for all women.

October 2016

October 2016

Established and published diagnostic criteria for amniotic fluid embolism in research studies in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology with an extensive multidisciplinary team of experts in maternal fetal medicine, hematology, and cardiology. The criteria have been internationally recognized and cited in more than 100 other publications and studies.

January 2017

January 2017

Published paper in European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology on reproductive outcomes of women who survived an amniotic fluid embolism.

June 2017

June 2017

AFE Foundation Board Member, Stephanie Arnold is the keynote speaker at the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) annual conference with over 2,500 labor and delivery nurses sharing her story and more about our organization.

June 2017

June  2017

Established the first of its kind biorepository in the U.S for amniotic fluid embolism specimens at Baylor College of Medicine to advance the research on the syndrome and identify potential new biomarkers aiding in the prediction, prevention, and more efficacious treatment of AFE.

March 2018

March 2018

Appointed to the CDC National Partnership to Eliminate Preventable Maternal Mortality.

May 2018

May 2018

Led by lobbyist and AFE Survivor Pattie Shea, AFE Foundation board member Diana Masulli, and several other AFE survivors, Connecticut passed the first bill of its kind mandating the CT Department of Public Health provide education on AFE developed by the AFE Foundation to all labor and delivery clinicians and medical students in the state.

June 2018

June 2018

Opened our office in Carlsbad, California and hired our second employee.

October 2018

October 2018

Co-Founded MoMMA’s Voices, a national coalition of patient organizations and individuals working together to reduce maternal complications in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

August 2019

August 2019

Held an International meeting on AFE with the world-renowned Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health at Wayne State University.

May 2020

May 2020

Published the first extensive manuscript in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Maternal Fetal Medicine on the key findings from the AFE Registry.

October 2020

October 2020

Appointed to Maternal Mortality Review Committees in California and Connecticut.

January 2021

January 2021

Recommended and helped establish a uniform checklist to aid in the treatment and management of AFE.

April 2022

April 2022

Expanded our research registry and biorepository to University Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas.

Help us #endAFE!

The AFE Foundation is funded by donations. Every dollar goes toward our support, research, and education programs. We are committed to turning donations into action, including yours.