Woman in coma for 7 months gives birth to healthy baby girl

An Indian woman who has been in a coma for the last seven months has given birth to a healthy baby girl at a Delhi hospital.

The woman, named Shafiya, had sustained serious head injuries in an accident when she was 40 days pregnant. She had fallen off a motorbike after her burqa became trapped in the vehicle's rear wheel, causing it to crash in March this year in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh,

She was brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in April due to the nature of her injuries. She has undergone four neurosurgical operations at AIIMS over the last few months.

The doctors had to remove a segment of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain, per a report in The Independent.

She even spent significant time on a ventilator. The doctors were unsure if they should terminate her pregnancy or not. But an ultrasound later revealed that the baby is normal and the doctors suggested that the woman keep the baby.

The 23-year-old was able to deliver a healthy baby girl on October 22. She is now off the ventilator and has even started to occasionally move her head and legs.

"A lot of discussion was held in her first and second trimester of pregnancy on whether we should terminate her pregnancy or continue the pregnancy as mother was still unconscious. As no congenital anomalies were noted in the fetus with serial level 2 ultrasound examinations, medical team suggested the option to continue pregnancy to family," said Dr. Deepak Gupta, a neurosurgeon at AIIMS.

"The decision to terminate the pregnancy in view of the mother's condition was left to the family. The family decided to continue the pregnancy subsequently. Highly uncommon. I haven't come across any such case in my 22 years of neurosurgical career at AIIMS," he added. According to Dr. Gupta, Shafiya has a 10-15 per cent chance of regaining consciousness.