Baby born with head stuck in mother's vagina

On June 20, the pregnant woman was transferred from Ba To District Medical Center to Quang Ngai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital for emergency treatment when she was pregnant for the second time, full term, and diagnosed with breech position. On the way to the hospital, the pregnant woman suddenly went into labor and gave birth in the car. Because the baby was in breech position, half of the baby's body came out first, the head was stuck in the mother's vagina.

Both mother and child were brought to the hospital in a state where the baby could not escape completely. Upon admission, doctors determined that the baby was in a life-threatening situation and activated the hospital's red alert.

Doctor Dinh Thi My Hoa, who was directly involved in the emergency, said that when the fetus was brought to the hospital, it was already very weak and could have died if it had been delayed by just a few minutes. Doctors had to immediately deliver the fetus' head from the mother's vagina. The baby boy weighed 2.7 kg when he was born but did not cry, had an irregular heartbeat, and had pale skin.

Doctors coordinated to intubate the baby to maintain the airway and perform chest compressions. After 5 minutes of active resuscitation, the baby started crying and showed positive changes. Currently, the health of both mother and baby is stable and is being monitored.

According to Dr. Hoa, normally when giving birth, the baby's head will come out of the mother's vagina first, which is called the vertex position. If the baby's feet and knees come out first, it is called the breech position, which is an abnormality of the fetus, accounting for about 5%. If not diagnosed early and treated well, breech position can increase the risk of complications for the mother and increase the mortality rate for the baby at birth.