Brain Dead and Pregnant

Abstract

The presence of pregnancy in a brain-dead woman is a rare circumstance. We present a case of a 31-year-old woman who was 22 weeks pregnant at the time of diagnosis of brain death after intracranial and subarachnoid hemorrhage. After a multidisciplinary approach, the decision was made to continue somatic support to maintain the pregnancy until optimal fetus viability. Cesarean section was performed after 11 weeks (33 weeks gestational age) of brain-death diagnosis with a successful delivery of a live infant. Management of brain-death complications during pregnancy is described.