Woman Performs Own Caesarean
to Save Baby

Can you believe that a pregnant woman in Mexico gave birth to a healthy baby boy after performing a caesarean section on herself with a kitchen knife? This unbelievable event was reported on April 6.

I’ve got a strong case of blood-phobia. If I were a pregnant woman and placed in the same situation, I would pass away as soon as I see a stream of blood. I could never have survived the operation.

Anyway, it is thought to be the first known case of a self-inflicted caesarean in which both the mother and baby survived.

The unidentified 40-year-old lived in a rural area without electricity, running water or sanitation. Her home was eight-hour-drive away from the nearest hospital. She performed the operation when she could not deliver the baby naturally.

She had lost a previous baby due to labour complications.

"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," said Dr. R.F. Valle, of the Dr. Manuel Velasco Suarez Hospital in San Pablo, Mexico.

Valle recounted the event in a report in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Before losing consciousness the woman told one of her children to call a local nurse for help. After the nurse stitched the wound with a sewing needle and cotton thread, the mother and baby were transferred and treated by Valle and his colleagues at the nearest hospital.

The woman took an unusual and extraordinary decision in labour when she couldn’t deliver herself spontaneously. She could get no medical help or resources, and decided to perform a caesarean section upon herself.

You may say, the mother’s instinct to save her child can move any woman to perform an extraordinary act. But this must be an extremely rare case.

After all, a mother is a strong creature, isn’t she?

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