Is it possible to get pregnant without a uterus?

11:00 AM

 
One pathologist I worked with told this story of her days in an ob/gyn rotation.

The doctors decided that the patient would have a c-section, due to some abnormality with the scans. It appeared the the mom had developed a huge fibroid. There was a lot of concern about how that fibroid would interfere with the delivery. Another big question was whether the dad would be allowed in the operating room. Because of the strange positioning of the baby, and the abnormal uterus, there was a lot of fear that there would be complications with the delivery.

In the OR, when the incision was made, the baby was right there! They hadn't realized that the baby was extra-utero. The huge fibroid that had been seen on the scans was the engorged uterus, being pushed abnormally by the baby's ectopic development. There was huge panic. Because the placenta is not attached to a surface that is biologically able to release it, acute hemorrhaging and imminent death of the mother is also probable.

As well, the baby needs the pressure of the walls of the uterus to develop correctly. Babies and mothers are not designed to gestate in this way.

In the end, the father was not in the OR, so they didn't have to worry about dealing with him. The baby and mother both survived, although both did need additional care post partum.

You Might Also Like

0 comments