An unexpected delivery: pregnancy experience of a paraplegic lady

• Published in: Spinal cord series and cases Vol. 3; no. 1; p. 17002
• Main Authors: Mustafah, Nadia M, Bakar, Noriani A, Fauzi, Aishah A, Hussein, Norhayati
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.05.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699/375/1824; 692/700/228/491; Anatomy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Case Report; Human Physiology; Neurochemistry; Neuropsychology; Neurosciences; Spinal cord diseases; Rehabilitation
• ISSN: 2058-6124; 2058-6124
• DOI: 10.1038/scsandc.2017.2

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has increased over the years, and so has the survival. Women with SCI remain fertile and have equal chance of pregnancy. Case presentation: We described a case of a 29-year-old lady with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) resultant with paraplegia in 2008, who conceived naturally 2 years after the injury. She only had her antenatal check-up at a low-risk antenatal center throughout her pregnancy and was not referred to specialized obstetric care. She did not appreciate active labor, and unexpectedly had a precipituous labor and gave birth in the bathroom. Discussion: Pregnancy is relatively safe in women with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, disability-related issues can be exaggerated during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum periods. Thus, understanding common issues related to pregnancy in this population is important. Specialized obstetric care with rehabilitation input throughout antenatal and postnatal care is crucial for a good overall outcome of a pregnant woman with SCI.