A 40-year-old woman gave birth to a healthy baby
boy after performing a Caesarean on herself using a kitchen knife, the
International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics reported.
The woman’s operation was believed to be the first known case of a self-inflicted Caesarean in which both the mother and baby survived.The unidentified woman who lived in a rural area of Mexico without
electricity or running water stays eight hours from the nearest
hospital.
The woman performed the operation when she could not deliver the baby on her own, having lost a previous baby due to labour complications.
Dr R Valle, of the Dr Manuel Velasco Suarez Hospital in San Pablo,
Mexico, said: “She took three small glasses of hard liquor and, using a
kitchen knife, sliced her abdomen in three attempts and delivered a male
infant that breathed immediately and cried.”
Before she lost consciousness, the woman told one of her children to call a local nurse for help.
The local nurse stitched the wound with a sewing needle and cotton
thread, before transferring the mother and baby to be treated by Dr.
Valle and his colleagues at the nearest hospital.
“This case represents an unusual and extraordinary decision by a woman in labour who, unable to deliver herself spontaneously, and with no medical help or resources, decided to perform a caesarean section upon herself,” he said.
He added that a mother’s instinct to save her child can move a woman
to perform extraordinary acts but said it would not have been necessary
if adequate medical care had been available.
According to Professor James Walker, professor of obstetrics and
gynaecology at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, he had heard of
cases in the past where farmers had performed Caesareans on their wives
after having previously carried out the operation on animals.
But he said it would not happen now. “In this country, there is
virtually never a situation when an individual is totally isolated from
medical care even in the most outlying areas.”
Dr. Valle believes the event would convince authorities of the importance of accessible healthcare.
