A 22-year-old woman from Dongguan, Angji agritainment, less than 1.4 meters in height and weighing only 32 kilograms, has suffered from uremia for seven years and has relied on hemodialysis to sustain her life. Despite her frail condition, this woman made a surprising decision: she was willing to risk her life to give birth to the child she was carrying for her husband. On the evening of July 7th, she underwent a cesarean section at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University and gave birth to a baby girl. Currently, both mother and daughter are safe and well!
"End-stage uremic patients can become pregnant and successfully give birth to a baby, which is undoubtedly a medical miracle," said Dr. Yin Lianghong, the attending physician of Xie Huanguì and head of the Nephrology Department at Jinan University's First Affiliated Hospital, expressing his amazement.
Reported by Yang Xia of the Yangcheng Evening News, intern Ziyuan Luo, and correspondent Zhiqin Wen
Xie Huanguì, from Zhongtang Town in Dongguan, developed nephritis at the age of 10. After several years of ineffective treatment, her condition worsened in 2005 into chronic renal insufficiency (uremia). Since then, her kidneys have not produced any urine, and all toxins and excess water in her body have been removed through weekly hospital dialysis sessions.
On the afternoon of August 8th, when the reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News saw Xie Huanguì, she was lying on a hospital bed at the Hemodialysis Center of Jinan University's First Affiliated Hospital, with the dialysis machine humming beside her. For seven years now, she has been lying down while the machine filters the toxins from her blood, three times a week. During her pregnancy, this increased to five times, and recently it has even reached once or twice a day. Unlike before, she is now a mother.
Xie Huanguì shared her pregnancy and intentions with Chen Longchang, who was also surprised and delighted. However, he soon calmed down and advised Xie Huanguì to abort the child, fearing that it would exacerbate her already fragile health. Nevertheless, Xie Huanguì was resolute, and they quickly went through the marriage procedures.
To ensure the newborn’s health, the cesarean section had to be postponed as long as possible. The expert group closely monitored the situation to "escort" the pregnant woman. Finally, two more weeks passed. During a check-up on July 7th, it was discovered that the placental blood supply was insufficient, and the fetus's activity frequency had decreased. The situation was critical, and a cesarean delivery was necessary. The surgery went smoothly, and soon a baby girl weighing only 1.47 kilograms was born.
"When the baby was born, she immediately excreted 15 milliliters of urine, much to the surprise of the medical staff present. This proved that the baby's kidney function was normal!" said Dr. Yin Lianghong. Postpartum, the mother experienced elevated blood pressure and was sent back to the dialysis center to continue hemodialysis; the newborn was placed in an incubator for monitoring.
Upon examination, it was found that the fetus was at 32 weeks of gestation with poor development. The umbilical cord was as thin as a chopstick, and the placenta was very small. In response to the patient's condition, the hospital devised a special dialysis plan, specially formulating dialysate with high sugar, high calcium, and high potassium content to increase nutrition for both the mother and the fetus.
Xie Huanguì's family is impoverished, with her parents earning only 2,000 yuan per month from their jobs. Just for dialysis alone, she spends over 80,000 yuan annually. After New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme reimbursement, she still has to pay over 30,000 yuan out-of-pocket. Later, a kind-hearted boss who had recovered from uremia through a kidney transplant extended a helping hand, covering her dialysis costs monthly.
However, joy was soon replaced by worry. Patients like her, suffering from end-stage uremia, already have complications such as heart failure and hypertension, posing constant life-threatening risks. Pregnancy and childbirth would be even more dangerous, possibly endangering both mother and child. Nevertheless, she ultimately decided to give birth to the child for Chen Longchang. "This way, when I die, there will be someone to keep him company!"
Unexpected pregnancy leads to marriage
Dr. Yin Lianghong said that Xie Huanguì created a medical miracle and succeeded. "However, for the safety of both mother and child, we still do not recommend that women with uremia become pregnant!" Meanwhile, Chen Longchang stated that despite the immense economic pressure—earning between three to four thousand yuan a month when things go well and nothing when they don’t—he will find a way to raise the child no matter how difficult it becomes!
Creation of a medical miracle
On January 19th this year, the day before Chinese New Year's Eve, Jinan University's First Affiliated Hospital received a call from Guanghua Hospital in Dongguan, informing them of a special pregnant woman coming to give birth. The hospital took it very seriously and immediately formed a team of experts from the nephrology, obstetrics, and cardiology departments.
"I'm already like this anyway; living each day is a bonus. If I can give birth to a child for my husband, I'll die peacefully knowing he'll have someone to keep him company when he gets old!" Xie Huanguì remained optimistic, smiling as she spoke.
Three years ago, Xie Huanguì worked at a small store in Shijie Town in Dongguan, where she met and fell in love with the store owner, Chen Longchang. Originally from Henan, Chen Longchang came to Dongguan to work hard and is 43 years old this year. There is a 21-year age gap between them. "I never thought about getting married even when we were dating," said Xie Huanguì. Many married uremic patients often get divorced, and she didn't want to drag anyone else down. It wasn't until last year, during a routine physical examination at the hospital, that she unexpectedly discovered she was already five months pregnant, which changed her mind!