Pregnant woman with swine flu recovers fully

New Delhi: The arrival of a baby is always preceded by anxious and excitement for expectant parents. However, things were different for the parents, because the risk goes five time higher when a pregnant women got infected with the swine flu ( H1N1).

However, the proactive doctors save the life of a woman and its foetus when the case was critical and complex as the foetus could not be delivered prematurely, but had to be protected from the virus while in the womb.

Dr. Kousar Ali Shah said, "This case is the first reported case in India of a pregnant swine flu patient – where both the mother and the foetus survived. It was a challenging case, fraught with complications and risks. The possibility of survival was extremely low. However, we took a chance and our efforts paid off."

"Putting the patient on ECMO was a sound and thought-out decision. Swine flu is an epidemic which is increasing at an alarming pace. If one feels even the slightest hint of infection they should get themselves tested immediately."

"The patient was 24 weeks pregnant and her symptoms had worsened over the course of a day and her blood oxygen levels were extremely low. Her breathing became progressively laboured and she had to be immediately put on ventilator support."

"However, her condition continued to deteriorate. When the predicted chances of survival for both the mother and child fell considerably, patient's family was given the option for ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine which acts as a heart-lung bypass," said Dr Vineeta Goyal, senior consultant.