Dancer gives birth during BRAIN SURGERY: Pregnant Portuguese woman is rushed in for emergency op, forcing surgeons to also deliver baby by caesarean – saving both their lives
- Teresa Sgro, 33, was seven months pregnant when she got a severe headache
- She was diagnosed with a brain lesion, and needed to have emergency surgery
- But doctors worried the baby might die, so performed Cesarean at the same time
- Teresa, who was unconscious during procedure, survived and is now mother to a healthy baby daughter Alma with husband Francesco
A dancer has given birth to a baby girl while undergoing brain surgery in Italy – with mother and daughter surviving the risky procedure in a Christmas miracle.
Teresa Sgro, 33, who is Portuguese but living in Turin, was seven months pregnant when she went to hospital for a severe headache on December 18.
Doctors at the city’s Molinette hospital discovered she was suffering from a brain lesion – an area of tissue damaged by disease or injury – meaning she needed emergency surgery or she might die.
But medics were also worried about the health of the baby, so decided to perform a Caesarean section at the same time.
Teresa Sgro, 33, (rear, in pink) a dancer living in Turin, Italy, was 31 weeks pregnant when she went to hospital with a severe headache and doctors discovered a brain lesion
Ten medics ended up operating on Teresa (left, with husband Francesco in brown) simultaneously to fix the lesion and deliver her baby – a daughter – by Cesarean section
Teresa was anaesthetised and taken to the neurosurgial operating theatre, which had been partially converted into a maternity suite.
A total of eight doctors split into two teams then worked on her simultaneously, one to repair the brain lesion and the other to deliver the baby.
Once the infant – a girl, now named Alma – had been delivered, she was put into an incubator and taken to the maternity ward for treatment.
Meanwhile Teresa remained on the operating table for several more hours, before she was also patched up and sent to recover on the neurosurgery ward.
She was eventually brought round from the anaesthetic, and – despite fears that she make not be able to speak or remember what happened to her – began speaking with husband Francesco – an acrobat – and her mother almost immediately.
She was taken to see baby Alma for the first time on Christmas Day, and found her daughter doing well.
Teresa and baby Alma are now both recovering well, and were able to see each other for the first time on Christmas Day (pictured). Doctors hope to discharge them both within weeks
Speaking about the terrifying experience, Teresa told newspaper Corriere Della Sera: ‘I only remember that they gave me a swab for Covid, nothing else.
‘When I woke up I saw my mother. My husband said he was afraid I wouldn’t speak, but I replied that I am too pleased to communicate with the world… they couldn’t take that away from me.’
Husband Francesco added: ‘We’ve had a miracle happen to us. It will take time for it to sink in. The baby is a fighter.’
‘Because of our work, Teresa and I are accustomed to taking care of every detail.
‘From what I saw I have understood that these doctors also know how to put on shows that are perfect in every detail.’
Doctors Alma has been eating well and putting on weight, and that she is also starting to breathe easier.
Medics still need to keep an eye on the rest of her organs to make sure they develop as they should, but hope to discharge mother and daughter in a few weeks.
Asked what happens next, Teresa replied: ‘Now? Now we live day by day.’