India: 7 months unconscious woman gives birth to baby girl
A 23-year-old woman lying unconscious for 7 months in AIIMS trauma center, New Delhi after maintaining multiple head surgeries in a road accident, gave birth to a healthy baby girl last week.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Deepak Gupta said, “A 23-year-old young woman came to AIIMS trauma center on April 1, 2022, at 4.30 am after sustaining a severe head injury the previous night when she was traveling with her husband on a 2-wheeler. Both husband and wife were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident. The husband did not suffer any head injury while the wife sustained a very serious head injury, she fell as she was sitting sideways and was without a helmet.”
“She was initially treated at Abdullah Hospital, Bulandshar, and later suggested to AIIMS trauma center. She was married six weeks back and was 40 days pregnant at the time of the accident. She was unconscious on arrival and had evidence of severe brain injury with a critical subdural hematoma inside her brain. She was instantly put on ventilator support and taken up for emergency surgery. She underwent a total of 5 neurosurgical operations in the last 7 months during hospitalization,” he added.
At present, the woman is still unconscious and breathing on her own.
“Presently, she is still unconscious, breathing on her own, not on any ventilatory support, and opens her eyes spontaneously, and occasional nods to painful stimuli. She stands a 10-15 percent chance of regaining consciousness in the next couple of years with continued rehabilitation support,” said Dr. Gupta.
As the woman was pregnant at the time of admission after a lot of discussions, the family decided to continue the pregnancy.
“A lot of discussions were held in her first and second trimesters of pregnancy on whether we should terminate her pregnancy or continue the pregnancy as the mother was still unconscious. As no congenital anomalies were noted in the fetus with serial level two ultrasound examinations, the medical team suggested the option to continue the pregnancy to the family. The decision to terminate the pregnancy given the mother’s condition was left to the family. The family decided to continue the pregnancy subsequently,” said Dr. Gupta.
“She was brought to AIIMS by her family when they noticed some activity suggestive of approaching labor pains in her. She gave birth to a healthy girl child weighing 2.5 kg at AIIMS trauma center on October 22 by the normal route. The delivery was completed by a team from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at AIIMS, Delhi,” he added.
Urging people to use helmets, the AIIMS neurologist said, “Helmets reduce the risk of death and head injury by 50-60 percent. With helmets, in-hospital deaths are reduced by 16 percent, cervical spine injuries are lesser and facial injuries are also lesser by 12–60 percent.”
India: 7 months unconscious woman gives birth to baby girl
He further said, “In India, of the 1,50,000 deaths each year from a head injury, 25 percent of deaths result from two-wheeler road traffic accidents. In a study that was earlier conducted at the trauma center in AIIMS, two times higher deaths were noted in non-helmeted riders (women) compared to helmeted riders. The Indian motor vehicle act (1988) received some opposition from Sikh women and later Sikh women and men were exempted from wearing helmets because of the turban. The women from the Muslim community, who wear burkhas also do not wear helmets. The acceptance of wearing helmets by women is still poor in India. It is to be noted that in road traffic accidents, head injuries can happen to anyone irrespective of age, sex, or religion. Most head injuries are preventable. The present case highlights the importance of wearing helmets for pillion rider women in India. All women irrespective of religion must wear helmets to prevent such accidents.”
