In many movies, a ruptured amniotic sac is a sign that labor is imminent. For a pregnant woman from Saxony, however, the much-too-early rupture of her amniotic sac led to a weeks-long stay at the University Hospital in Jena—a situation that ultimately turned out to be an “absolute stroke of luck,” as senior physician Janine Zöllkau explained in a statement. This is because the birth could be delayed—and little Eva was born healthy.
The woman’s amniotic sac had already ruptured in the 20th week of pregnancy—well before her due date and before labor began. In what was described as a “high-wire act,” the team at the Department of Obstetrics and the Neonatology Unit at the Jena Children’s Hospital managed to sustain the pregnancy—for 15 weeks, until little Eva was born.
“At 20 weeks, the baby would not have been viable,” said Zöllkau, a senior physician at the Department of Obstetrics. Measures to sustain the pregnancy typically buy a few days to weeks of time. “The fact that we were able to extend it by 15 weeks is a rarity.»
