Medical wonder: Brain dead woman gives birth to a healthy baby

A brain-dead Czech woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl setting a new record for the longest artificially sustained pregnancy in a brain-dead mother, reported doctors from Brno's University Hospital. The baby, born by caesarean section - weighed 2.13 kg (4.7 lb) and measured 42 cm (16.5 inches).

"This case is unique not only in the Czech Republic but also worldwide. It has not been possible anywhere else in the world so far to keep the child in her mother almost to the point of birth. The case is therefore rare and will undoubtedly go down in the history of Czech and world medicine," the hospital said in a press release.

The pregnant woman was brought in deep unconscious on April 21, 2019, via a helicopter, with decreasing body temperature, circulating stable, her airways were secured from the emergency service and were ventilated by the device. During that time, the baby's heart action was fine. The 27-year-old woman had a history of arteriovenous malformation with manifestations of epilepsy. At the time of admission, she was 15 weeks pregnant.

And yet, on Aug. 15, against all odds, a healthy baby girl was born by caesarean section, after about 17 weeks of being in the hospital.

It said the 117 days that she had been kept alive in the womb - a process fraught with potential complications - were believed to be a record for the longest artificially sustained pregnancy in a brain-dead mother.

The mother, whose identity was not revealed, had been declared brain-dead shortly after reaching the hospital, upon which doctors immediately began the struggle to save her child.

They put the woman on artificial life support to keep the pregnancy going and even regularly moved her legs to simulate walking to help the child's growth.

After the delivery in the 34th week of gestation, with the husband and other family members present, medical staff disconnected the mother's life support systems and allowed her to die.

'The length of the entire hospitalization, that is 117 days and the associated size and maturity of the fetus that has been achieved (more than 2000g, which is rare), makes this case a unique one," wrote the authors.