Fans of Bringing Up Bates star Erin Bates raised alarms this week after her husband, Chad Paine, stopped posting updates on social media days after Erin was rushed to an intensive care unit with septic shock following the birth of the couple’s seventh child.
Paine had posted several messages earlier describing a serious turn in Erin’s condition after what he said began as a severe urinary tract infection and kidney infection in the week after the baby’s birth. In a weekend post he shared a short video showing Erin in a hospital bed holding their newborn son, Henry, and wrote that the family was "on the road to recovery." But Paine has not posted further health updates, and some fans said that absence, along with siblings’ travel posts, heightened their concern.
In an earlier Instagram message, Paine described a frightening sequence of events. He said Erin developed a severe UTI and a kidney infection that progressed to septic shock, and that she later suffered a "lengthy and severe seizure." Paine said doctors placed her in the ICU, where physicians were running scans and tests to determine the cause of the seizure and to continue treatment while she remained "extremely weak and spent hours only half conscious."
The couple’s newborn, Henry, was in the neonatal intensive care unit, Paine said, and had been doing well. In the video Paine posted, Erin is shown hooked up to an IV and monitoring devices and wearing a cap that appeared to cover dressings on her head. The clip shows her cradling and kissing Henry, and Paine’s caption thanked followers for their prayers and said the family felt them.
After the weekend post, several members of the extended Bates family shared social-media updates about traveling to be with Erin and the newborn. Fans on Reddit and other platforms noted posts from Erin’s brother Lawson Bates and his wife, Tiffany, indicating they had flown to Florida to visit. Another sister, Michaela, posted a photo holding baby Henry. Some followers interpreted the family visits as routine support after the birth; others worried they signaled a deterioration in Erin’s condition because Paine had offered no new information.
Paine has described the experience as one of the hardest he has faced. In a Sept. 4 post, he wrote that the hours had been "long and heavy" and that he was "holding on to faith that healing is coming, even in the midst of the unknown." He asked followers to continue praying for Erin and thanked medical staff and those who had messaged the family.
Septic shock is a rare but potentially deadly complication of infection. Medical literature cites rates after delivery in the low fractions of a percent; a 2024 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted rising trends in pregnancy-related infections, with urinary tract infections among common causes. Infections and sepsis are a leading contributor to maternal mortality in the United States.
Erin Bates is known as one of 19 children featured on the reality series Bringing Up Bates and its predecessor, United Bates of America. She and Paine married in 2013 and are parents to seven children: Charles Steven IV, Brooklyn Elise, Everly Hope, Holland Grace, Finley Marie, William Gage and newborn Henry. The couple documents aspects of their life on a YouTube channel and run several small businesses selling stationery, skincare and religious music.
Erin’s medical history includes previous pregnancy losses and several surgeries. In 2015 the couple disclosed miscarriages related to a blood-clotting issue, and in 2021 Erin said she underwent multiple surgeries after cyst ruptures that resulted in the removal of most or all of one ovary. She later had her gallbladder removed.
Messages on social media from fans and other members of the Bates family ranged from prayers and well wishes to practical concerns about whether the couple would continue expanding their family. Several comments on family pages and in replies to Paine’s posts expressed gratitude for the medical team caring for Erin and for the couple’s faith-based approach to sharing updates.
As of the latest posts, Paine has not issued a new public update on Erin’s condition. Family posts show relatives congregating around the household and visiting the hospital, and followers remain attentive to any news about Erin’s recovery and the health of baby Henry.