Abstract
We describe a rare case of full term abdominal pregnancy in a Jehovah’s witness patient; she underwent laparotomy successfully without blood transfusion. Despite their belief regarding transfusion, Jehovah’s witnesses may not necessarily have a higher morbidity or mortality rate following a complex obstetric surgery as seen in the present case.
Highlights
Abdominal pregnancy is a variety of ectopic pregnancy and may be defined as intraperitoneal implantation exclusive of tubal, intraligamentous or ovarian implantation
We describe here a 35-year-old Jehovah’s Witness patient with full term secondary abdominal pregnancy who had a laparotomy with a live baby, which to the best of our knowledge is the first of such a case in Jehovah’s Witness patient reported in Nigeria
The administration of ferrous sulphate, folic acid and recombinant erythropoietin helped to maintain the haemoglobin during the post operative period and enhanced the immediate post-operative haematocrit levels to 15.0%. These measures are important, as a study conducted among patients who declined blood transfusion for religious reasons has shown that morbidity and mortality rates increased dramatically when the haemoglobin concentration decreased below 6 g/dL [7]
Summary
Abdominal pregnancy is a variety of ectopic pregnancy and may be defined as intraperitoneal implantation exclusive of tubal, intraligamentous or ovarian implantation. It is a rare obstetric emergency and its occurrence in a Jehovah’s Witness patient is very challenging because they are known worldwide for their refusal of the acceptance of blood and blood products [1]. The unique aspects of these beliefs can pose management challenges to health care providers in addition to ethical and medicolegal dilemmas [1,2]. Modifications of standard transfusion practices may be necessary to respect the beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses patient and this may seem to be a hindrance to the optimal care of a patient. *Competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing interests
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