Pregnant Woman, Baby Saved After Mother Developed Rare Umbilical Cord Prolapse

A hospital in India managed to save the lives of a 32-year-old pregnant woman and her baby after the mother-to-be suffered a rare, life-threatening condition called umbilical cord prolapse.

The 8-month-pregnant woman had an umbilical cord hanging between her legs and amniotic fluid swiftly draining out of her when she arrived at a private hospital. The woman immediately underwent a C-section, The New Indian Express reported.

A team of doctors led by Dr Prameela Shekhar of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital, Kondapur, in the southern city of Hyderabad, conducted the procedure. The doctors were able to safely deliver the baby, who weighed 5.4 pounds.

In a press release, the hospital said the umbilical cord prolapse is a medical emergency. In such cases, an urgent C-section needs to be performed to save both the baby and the mother.

“Umbilical cord prolapse manifests when the amniotic sac which holds the fetus, breaches, leading to the amniotic fluid spilling out of the sac and the umbilical cord coming out of the uterus," The New Indian Express quoted the press release by the hospital.

“While hanging out of the uterus the cord is likely to get squeezed between the baby and the mother’s womb, thereby depriving the fetus of its supply of essentials including oxygen needed to survive. This can be fatal to the fetus leading to stillbirth and can be lethal to the mother as well.”

The mother and the baby have recovered without complications and have been discharged, Dr Prameela Shekhar said, according to Telangana Today.

Earlier this month, doctors at a hospital in India had performed a rare and complex surgery lasting for four hours to remove 106 uterine fibroids in a woman. The doctors at a super speciality hospital in Delhi removed the fibroids, 10 at a time, with 11 blood transfusions along the way. "It is extremely rare to have so many fibroids. Surgical removal is considered when they cause extremely heavy and painful periods, causing difficulty in conceiving or lead to miscarriage," Dr Neha Khandelwa, a gynecologist at the Rainbow Madhukar Hospital told The Times of India. The woman reportedly had 48 uterine fibroids removed in a surgery five years ago. She later suspected something was wrong when her stomach grew to the size of a seven-month pregnant woman.