'Postmortem' cesarean section with recovery of both mother and offspring
N. L. DePace, J. S. Betesh and M. N. Kotler
A 27-year-old primigravida of 37 weeks' gestation suffered cardiopulmonary
arrest after massive hemoptysis. After extensive advanced cardiopulmonary
resuscitation measures, it was thought that the mother could not be
resuscitated and a cesarean section was performed. Immediately after
delivery of the fetus, the mother's pulse was palpated, and both the mother
and infant are alive without neurological sequelae 20 months later. The
reversal of the supine hypotensive syndrome, which was precipitated by
massive blood loss, may be the mechanism to account for the restoration of
the mother's cardiac output after delivery.
