St. Augustine newborn dies days after mom died while giving birth

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UPDATE 5-17-2019: Baby Matthew passed away surrounded by family Friday, May 17. 

ORIGINAL STORY: A local newborn is showing signs of improvement nearly two weeks after his mother died while giving birth.

Baby Matthew has been in the NICU at Wolfson Children’s Hospital for 12 days fighting for his little life, after his mom died in childbirth.

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But this week he’s making progress, and his dad, Matthew Accurso, got to hold him for the very first time.

Lauren Accurso, 37, died after a rare medical complication while giving birth to Matthew.

Just two days before her tragic death, Action News Jax was inside her home interviewing her family after their home was struck by lightning.

The mother of three little girls told us how excited she was to have her first boy.

“We were just absolutely devastated when we found out and we are still devastated and we still can’t believe it,” said Matt McCloghry, pastor at Colonial Church.

The couple’s pastor said while Matthew is getting stronger each day, there are still a lot of unknowns – and they’re believing for a miracle.

"We need people to keep lifting up this baby because we believe prayer changes things," said McCloghry. If you would like to help this family during this difficult time, click here.

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