Baby growing outside womb shows science can save both mother and child

Brasilia, Brazil, Jul 22, 2008 / 21:15 pm

Commenting on the recent birth of a baby who developed outside his mother’s womb, one of the doctors present at the delivery, Waldemir Rezende, said that the extraordinary results of the medical intervention show that it is always possible for science to save both the mother and the child.

Brazilian media has been following the case of Maria Benedita, whose difficult pregnancy could have ended in abortion but instead ended with the birth of a healthy baby.

In an interview with the Catholic News Agency, Dr. Rezende said that in cases such as Benedita’s, (which are 1 in 40,000 pregnancies), “the risks always exist and are great, but nature is wise and can help us find solutions for the different problems we encounter along the way.”
 
He added that during the entire process, Maria Benedita trusted the doctors caring for her from the time she arrived at the hospital, and today she is a happy mother of a baby boy.  He called the incident a miracle of life and science.

Asked if the mother’s life was ever in danger during the pregnancy, Dr. Rezende said, “Although in these situations there is always the risk of hemorrhaging, perforation of intestine, spleen or stomach, maternal or fetal infection, everything turned out okay because each step during the process was carefully calculated.”

“We performed x-rays to find the exact location of the placenta.  After this analysis we concluded that the location where the fetal tissue was implanting would not pose any mortal risk to the mother or to the fetus.  For this reason the successful delivery was scheduled for the 32nd week of pregnancy,” Dr. Rezende explained.