After the pregnant woman's breathing and heartbeat stop, the fetus can survive for about thirty minutes. However, waiting thirty minutes to rescue the fetus is too late because the fetal brain cells, due to their poor tolerance for ischemia and hypoxia, will suffer irreversible brain damage four to five minutes after the mother's death. The extracted fetus may directly enter brain death.
Given this situation, if the pregnant woman's breathing and heartbeat stop, and after four minutes of continuous CPR the mother does not regain spontaneous circulation, doctors must consider performing a Cesarean Section immediately to extract the fetus. This is especially true for this woman, who is already more than thirty weeks pregnant. Performing a Cesarean Section, and even a uterine removal if necessary, is very beneficial in saving both the mother and the fetus.
Surgery requires family consent.
