Brain-dead Czech woman gives birth after 117 days
Child born healthy
A Czech woman has given birth 117 days after brain death. Doctors at Brno University Hospital kept the woman alive for 17 weeks so that they could save her child. A healthy girl was delivered on August 15 by Caesarean section.
The 27-year old unnamed woman was in her 16th week of pregnancy when she was found unconscious, apparently after an epileptic fit. Shortly thereafter she was declared brain dead.
According to the hospital, this pregnancy may have set a record as the longest for a brain-dead mother. About 20 similar cases have been recorded.
After the delivery, with her husband and other family members present, the doctors disconnected the mother’s life support systems and allowed her to die.
“This has really been an extraordinary case when the whole family stood together … without their support and their interest it would never have finished this way,” Dr Pavel Ventruba, head of gynaecology and obstetrics at the hospital, told the media.
Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge
Creative commons
https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/FB_czech.jpg
brain death
czech republic
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Is the Biden campaign using abortion as its trump card?
Joe Biden is making abortion rights a central plank in his re-election campaign. Earlier this week he signed a new...
After Supreme Court decision, Alabama protects IVF – but has it gone too far?
Alabama’s legislature and governor moved quickly to protect IVF after its Supreme Court startled the nation by ruling that embryos...
The abortion pill controversy mixes science, law and politics in a toxic brew
Medication abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions in the United States in 2023, according to a report from the...
How much should you know about the American president’s health?
President Joe Biden is 81 years old. The presumptive Republican nominee in November, former President Donald Trump, is 77 years...
European Parliament deputies call for abortion to be made a ‘fundamental right’
France’s decision to include a right to abortion in its constitution has revived moves to include it in European Union’s Charter of...
How not to report an assisted suicide
Thursday in Sydney, where BioEdge is located, is a few hours ahead of Thursday in Switzerland, the day when 72-year-old...