Uterus Receiver Completes First 12 Weeks Of Her Pregnancy

A uterus receiver from Vadodara, who had a successful uterus transplant in Pune in May 2017 has now completed the crucial first 12 weeks of her pregnancy. Pune’s Galaxy Care Hospital become the first in the country to conduct a uterus transplant in a day-long process on May 18, 2017. A 12-member team of gynaecologists, endocrinologists and IVF specialists were deployed to perform the transplant. This is the first such case to get successful in the country. Both the woman and her 13-week-old fetus are doing well and a normal pregnancy is being predicted reported the TOI.

Why Is It A Milestone

The 27-year-old woman from Vadodara, Gujarat will be the first woman to deliver a baby after having a uterus transplant. Shailesh Puntambekar, transplant surgeon of Galaxy Care Hospital, Pune told the TOI, “Completing the first trimester is an important milestone, especially for a uterus recipient.” However, the doctors are planning full medical supervision till 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“Completing the first trimester is an important milestone, especially for a uterus recipient.” Dr Shailesh Puntambekar

Read Also : In a First for US, Baby Born Post Successful Uterus Transplant

The hospital's gynecologist Milind Telang said, "The current plan is to take utmost care of the mother and the baby, as in any normal pregnancy, besides checking the proper growth milestones as this is a post-transplant pregnancy.”

Why Additional Care is Required

Telang elaborates on why additional care is important in this case. The woman's uterus does not have a nerve supply and in case there is a miscarriage she will not experience any pain. Hence, proper bed rest and nutrition have to be combined with a close monitoring of her pregnancy.

The woman's uterus does not have a nerve supply and in case there is a miscarriage she will not experience any pain.

In a report by TOI, gynaecologist and IVF expert Pankaj Kulkarni said, “We need to understand that the uterus is delivering after 20 years. Additionally, as the nerves are not transplanted, the woman will not feel the pain of an abortion. So clinical and sonography monitoring will have to be carried out vigilantly.”

 There was another a 22-year-old woman from Solapur who also received a uterus transplant on May, 18 2017. This was just a day before the woman from Vadodara underwent her uterus transplant surgery. The 22-year-old had also conceived but she suffered a miscarriage in her 5th week.

Kulkarni added, “The Solapur woman underwent another embryo transfer last week. We expect the positive result by July 4 when the pregnancy test will be done. If she gets pregnant, we will become the most successful country in this arena with back-to-back pregnancies in both women with uterus transplants.”

Read Also : Mother’s Personal Narrative: How a tough pregnancy led me to relearn life

Kriti Dwivedi is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv