In mid-August, a mother in the Czech Republic delivered a healthy baby girl 117 days after being declared brain dead.
The 27-year-old woman, who suffered a stroke and brain hemorrhage in April, delivered her baby via C-section on Aug. 15 while on life support, according to the Independent. At the time of her stroke, the mother was medevaced to a nearby hospital, where she was soon declared brain dead.
Immediately, the medical team at the University Hospital in Brno went to work to save the life of her unborn baby. Doctors and nurses regularly moved the young mother’s legs to imitate walking, which would stimulate the infant’s growth.
Then, at 34 weeks gestation, the woman had her baby with family members present. At that point, the mother’s life support was disconnected and she was allowed to finally pass away.
While the hospital didn’t offer many details about the baby’s health, officials did tell ABC News she is now with her father.
This is not the first time such measures have been taken to preserve the life of an unborn infant. In Brazil two years ago, a brain-dead woman was kept alive for a record 123 days in order to deliver her twin babies, a boy and a girl.
As for this latest woman in the Czech Republic, one of her doctors described the harrowing situation as “extraordinary.”
“This has really been an extraordinary case when the whole family stood together. … Without their support and their interest, it would never have finished this way,” said Pavel Ventruba, head of gynecology and obstetrics at the hospital.