DAYS of coughing and difficulty breathing brought Xiao Hong, a mother of a 9-year-old and a soon-to-be-delivered newborn, to a hospital earlier this month, but it turned out that the pregnant woman and her 33-week-old fetus were in serious condition.

After examinations, Xiao was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease, combined valvular heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. An X-ray showed that Xiao was also suffering from pneumonia in her right lung, which could easily trigger heart failure, putting both her and the fetus at dire risk.

The doctor in charge of Xiao’s case, Niu Jianmin, with Shenzhen Maternity and Child Heath-care Hospital, said that the mother would encounter three dangerous stages if she insisted on continuing the pregnancy.

The first dangerous stage was between 32 to 36 weeks of Xiao’s pregnancy. The second risky phase would be during labor and the last one would be the first 72 hours following labor, according to Niu.

Xiao was 33 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with the diseases, so she was transferred to the ICU.

The hospital invited an experienced obstetrician from Shanghai named Lin Jianhua. Lin was introduced to assist the hospital through the city’s “3R Project” that aims to bring in more medical experts to enhance Shenzhen’s health-care work.

Lin suggested that Xiao have the infant delivered as soon as possible. On May 13, doctors conducted a C-section and the baby girl was born, weighing 2 kilograms.

The mother was later transferred back to the ICU for further observation where she managed to survive the final dangerous stage.

The hospital raised 18,860 yuan (US$2,737) from the medical staff at the hosptal for Xiao’s family.

According to the hospital, they have received an increasing number of pregnant women at advanced maternal ages over the past two years due to the implementation of the two-child policy. The hospital said it would work closer with other hospitals to handle the larger number of risky pregnancies. (Zhang Qian)