For the first time in Eastern India, doctors at Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals gave a new lease of life to an unborn by blood transfusion inside the womb. Rima was diagnosed with a rare complication of fetal hydrops during the 24^th week of pregnancy where fluids get accumulated in the fetus making the baby anemic.

Fetal hydrops is a rare problem (1 in 10,000) during pregnancy, which occurs in the second pregnancy when the mother’s blood group is A- (negative) and the father’s blood group is B+ (positive). In such cases, if the first child is born with a positive blood group, chances are there that the mother’s body fights the positive cells left after delivery. The presence of these antibodies affects the unborn during the second pregnancy. Hence the blood in the fetus turns into fluid and gets accumulated in the baby’s chest, tummy, and under skin.  The mortality rate of babies with fetal hydrops is 50% to 90% depending on how early it’s detected.

Dr. Mallinath Mukherjee, Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals said that in cases like this, blood transfusion to the unborn is the only way to save the baby’s life. Even with treatment, the survival rate of such babies is extremely low. In this case, the doctors have been able to successfully deliver the baby at 35 weeks of pregnancy after 6 blood transfusions.

Blood transfusion in the unborn has several risk factors like infection in the womb leading to premature delivery, heart failure of the baby due to too much blood transfusion, and even death of the mother if the blood reaches the mother.

To avoid situations like this, doctors also advised checking blood groups before marriage and taking necessary precautions to avoid such problems during pregnancy. There are several antidotes like Anti D imuno globulin, which are given to the mothers after first delivery to prevent fetal hydrops in the second pregnancy.