High-risk pregnancy case: Docs save mom, deliver 690g baby

Mangaluru: Doctors at KMC Hospital Attavar successfully managed a high-risk pregnancy and helped both mother and baby return home safely after nearly 2.5 months of hospital care.A 37-year-old woman, who was 26 weeks and five days pregnant, visited the hospital for her routine antenatal check-up. She had a difficult obstetric history — one abortion 11 years ago and a previous caesarean section four years ago due to severe high blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy, when, unfortunately, the baby did not survive.
During regular check-ups with Dr Nina Mahale, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, she was found to have high BP and was admitted on Nov 28 last year. Further tests showed twoserious complications — complete placenta previa (Grade 4), a condition where the placenta completely covers the mouth of the uterus, which can cause severe bleeding; and severe fetal growth restriction, with the baby much smaller than expected for the stage of pregnancy. She was started on medicines to control BP and given steroid injections to help the baby's lungs mature. Regular ultrasound and doppler scans were done to closely monitor the baby's growth and blood flow. An MRI scan showed that part of the placenta was abnormally attached to the uterus (placenta accreta), increasing the risk of heavy bleeding during delivery. On Dec 13, scans showed that the baby's condition worsened, with doppler showing reversed blood flow in the umbilical cord. At 29 weeks of pregnancy, as the mother's BP remained uncontrolled, the medical team decided to perform an emergency caesarean section on Dec 16. A baby girl weighing 690gram was delivered. It was immediately taken over by the paediatric team for specialised care in the neonatal unit. After nearly 2.5 months of hospital stay, both mother and baby were discharged in good health on Feb 17. At the time of discharge, the baby weighed 1.5kg.