Vadodara uterus recipient set to deliver in three weeks

PUNE: For the first time in the country, a uterus recipient has completed 31 weeks of pregnancy and is expected to deliver a baby in another three weeks.

This will make the 27-year-old Vadodara beautician the first woman in the country to give birth to a child following a uterus transplant. Ever since her pregnancy was confirmed, the woman has been under observation at a Pune-based hospital where she had undergone the uterus transplant in May last year.
“The woman is precisely 30.5-week pregnant.She is doing well and has crossed the crucial second trimester (28 weeks) of her pregnancy. Three weeks from now, we are planning to deliver the child through caesarean section,” transplant surgeon Shailesh Puntambekar of Galaxy Care Hospital told TOI.
As against childbirth in regular pregnancy of 40 weeks, delivery following a uterus transplant has to be carried out through caesarean section after 34 weeks.
This is because the uterus is transplanted without the nerves and the patient cannot feel the labour pain. In the absence of nerves, there is no co-ordination between the uterus and the cervix (lower portion of the uterus).
As days progress during regular pregnancy, the cervix gets dilated to accommodate the uterus. As the lower segment is not formed in a transplanted uterus, doctors have to take the baby out through caesarean section between 34 and 36 weeks to avoid any complication.
“The current weight of the foetus is 1,200g, which is matching with her pregnancy period. Even if the woman delivers at this stage for any medical reason, we will be able to save the baby. The baby is healthy and its development has been consistently normal and good,” Galaxy Care Hospital gynaecologist Milind Telang said.
“We will stick to our current regimen of taking utmost care of the woman and the baby till she delivers. The hospital is well equipped to carry out the delivery,” he said.
The Vadodara woman had received her mother’s uterus. “We need to understand that the uterus is delivering after a gap of 20 years. Clinical and sonography monitoring have to be carried out vigilantly till she delivers,” gynaecologist and IVF expert Pankaj Kulkarni said.