Stephanie Arnold died, but she only died for 37 seconds. Within seconds of the birth of her second child, Jacob, she coded on the operating table she had been placed on for an emergency C-section. "My heart stopped, all electrical signals went to zero," she told CBS Chicago.

Arnold had been diagnosed with an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), a rare condition that occurs in less than .01 percent of births, but has a 60 percent mortality rate. AFE is when amniotic fluid or fetal matter enters the mother's bloodstream and triggers a life-threatening reaction. Arnold's OB-GYN, Dr. Julie Levitt, had only ever read about the condition before now.

And yet, Arnold survived. She managed to escape permanent damage, despite spending almost a week in a coma and additional time after that in the hospital to recover. Even more incredible was her pre-delivery worry that she would have trouble during the delivery. For weeks during her pregnancy, Arnold said she had premonitions that she would die during childbirth.

"It was so raw," she said. "It was the feeling that I was going to die. There was no question."

Arnold's anesthesiologist, Dr. Nicole Higgins, added: "It wasn't based on anything but her emotions. She just had a sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong."

The premonitions inspired Arnold to undergo countless tests to see if she was at risk for anything, but all of her results came back negative. Though her doctors, specialists, and husband all tried to convince her she'd be fine, Arnold still met with Higgins prior to her C-section, causing Higgins to change up the anesthesia order to include more blood and more monitors.

"That is 100 percent what saved my life," Arnold said. "No question."

Dr. Levitt cites the entire ordeal as a learning experience, saying that if a woman has fears, she should express them to her physician. There is no real way to predict the rare condition, but doctors say other patients who have experienced AFE have also described "feelings of doom" before the delivery. Risk factors may include advanced maternal age and placenta issues throughout pregnancy.

Arnold said the experience changed her, prompting her to write a book about her experience, appropriately titled 37 Seconds.

"I take deeper breaths," she said, of her post-delivery life. "I savor every single moment with my family."

Arnold now lives in Chicago with her husband Jonathan, daughter Adina, Jacob, and her stepdaughter Valentina.