TSSF-Staffed Hospital Performs Rare Delivery Procedure, Saving Mother and Baby

Tertiary Sisters medical staff at the St. Padre Pio Hospital in Douala, Cameroon, delivered a live baby at term from its mother’s abdominal cavity, an exceedingly rare and difficult procedure. The procedure, which resulted in a heathy baby and mother, was so exceptional that it was documented in a Scientific Research journal article published earlier this year.

Abdominal pregnancy is a rare complication where a fertilized egg implants in the abdomen, instead of in the uterus. It occurs in about one of every 10,000 pregnancies and has a very high fatality rate for both mother foetus.

The effective management of this very rare phenomenon is a direct result of the Tertiary Sisters’ investment in and commitment to healthcare delivery and education in poor and underserved areas––and a testament to the Tertiary Sisters’ mission to see and serve Christ in the poor by spending time to care.

Sr. Cynthia Shang, TSSF, Hospital Administrator and General Practitioner, briefly shares her experience on how the case was managed.

“We received a 28 – year old woman with an abdominal Pregnancy in our facility, whom we closely followed up to delivery. This is very rare representing 1% of ectopic pregnancies often associated with maternal mortality and fatal malformations. In our case, the mother and baby were closely followed up, well managed and they both went home in a stable state. The case illustrates that intra-abdominal pregnancies though rare and complex can be managed to term and produce visible fetuses”.

For more information, read the full article in Scientific Research.