Czech baby is delivered after brain-dead mother kept alive for 117 days

Eliska was delivered on August 15, 2019.
Eliska was delivered on August 15, 2019. Copyright University Hospital Brno
By Euronews with Associated Press
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Eliska was born on August 15. Her mother, 27, was declared brain dead on April 21.

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A healthy baby girl was delivered from a brain-dead woman kept alive for more than three months to allow the fetus to develop, a Czech hospital has announced.

Eliska was born on August 15, weighing 2.1kg and measuring 42 cm and has since been taken home by her father, the University Hospital in Brno said in a statement.

Her mother, 27, was declared brain dead on April 21 after suffering a brain haemorrhage when she was 16 weeks pregnant. The hospital said she had had a history of arteriovenous malformation with manifestations of epilepsy.

Specialists from multiple departments including anesthesiology, resuscitation, intensive care, obstetrics and gynaecology worked together to keep the fetus alive.

"Special attention was paid to nutrition to ensure the mother's energy needs, but more importantly the optimal growth and development of the fetus," the hospital said.

A gynaecological council established that the baby's weight had grown to 980 grams by June 24 and to 1.5 kg by mid-July

Still, there were four infectious complications during the pregnancy which required the use of antibiotics.

According to the hospital, there have only been 20 such cases worldwide although it stated the case was unique due to its length — the mother was kept alive for a total of 117 days — and the baby's maturity.

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