Baby Born to Brain-Dead Mother After Almost 4 Months
Baby Born to Brain-Dead Mother After Almost 4 Months
The story of brain-dead mother, Sandra Pedro, shocked the World. The Portuguese woman lived for eight years in the neighborhood of Bragadas with her son. She visited the doctor after realizing that she was pregnant. The doctors warned her of a probable risk of the pregnancy as a result of her medical history. Sandra Pedro had a history of having suffered both pneumonia and heart problems. She had also been in a coma once before and had undergone kidney surgery due to a tumor. Sandra Pedro was now 37 years old and determined to take whatever risks in order to give birth to her child.
Then in February, the worse came to be, and a brain hemorrhage occurred. Sandra Pedro was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) while holding on to dear life with all her might. She was on the brink of death, yet her baby boy kept growing inside her.
On the 20th of February, Sandra Pedro was declared brain dead, but doctors at Lisbon’s Sao Jose Hospital concluded the fetus was alive and healthy. After a final echocardiogram, doctors discovered a shocking revelation. This was certainly a first in Portugal and one of a kind the world over. The baby inside the 37-year-old mother had positive vital signs! As much as it was unimaginable, the boy’s heart had a regular and steady heartbeat. Doctors could not believe this; it was certainly a miracle!
The test results were then sent to the Sao Jose Hospital Ethics Committee, in Lisbon. This is where it was decided and agreed upon to continue the pregnancy. The aim of continuance was to ensure a healthy and natural development of the fetus. Sandra Pedro’s family and Michael Angelo Faria, the infant’s father, were all in agreement with the decision to continue the pregnancy.
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The lifeless mother was kept alive using machines so that her body could perform the necessary functions to ensure life for the child. Her entire family was undoubtedly under immense pressure and distress, having to watch their deceased member every single day. It was an incredibly odd sensation to have Sandra declared dead and yet life existed and festered inside her. So immense was the impact of this experience such that the family remained steadfast even in the face of this difficult occurrence.
The 37-year-old Sandra Pedro basically turned into a living incubator. She housed her son inside her body, providing security and furthering his fetal development. Keeping the mother’s body in proper functional capabilities was, however, an around the clock task for the team of more than 80 medical staff.
And then, 107 days later, it happened. The five-pound baby was delivered, albeit premature, and his vitals were quite impressive, especially for a premature baby. The hospital then released a statement. It declares that the hospital’s ethics committee, the mother’s family, and the infant’s father all agreed on a cesarian section. The delivery was an entirely unprecedented occurrence, even for the doctors involved, with most of them breaking down in tears.
Miraculously, the baby was in perfect health. The life support machines were then turned off, and Sandra Pedro’s body was then transferred to the family for a proper, and final, farewell. According to the head of the Society of Obstetricians in Portugal, Luis Graca, the delivery was an extraordinary feat.
It is quite amazing how a mother can risk possible danger just to give birth. Even in death, Sandra Pedro’s body still ensured her baby got to live. To the medical team who made such a miracle possible, congratulations!!
At the time, doctors say there were only 33 cases similar to that of Sandra Pedro worldwide. Such cases continue to be documented in the medical literature since 1982.