Term Abdominal Pregnancy with Live Baby; Case Report from St Padre Pio Hospital Akwa Nord Douala (August 2024)

In this report, we present a case of a term abdominal pregnancy managed in St Padre Pio Hospital Douala (Cameroon). The 28-year-old G₂P₁₀₀₁ woman whom we received to our facility at 15 weeks gestation with an intrauterine pregnancy confirmed by ultrasonography. She returned at 21 weeks with a history of syncope and blood transfusion in another facility. An obstetrical ultrasonography done that day revealed a live fetus located at the upper right side within the peritoneal cavity. She continued with her routine Antenatal visits, and at each visit, an ultrasonography was done, revealing a slowly growing fetus. At 38 weeks, a laparotomy was carried out, and the live male baby weighing 2500 grammes was extracted. The placenta was implanted in the uterus; it was removed with minimal blood loss of approximately 400 mls. The mother was heamodynamically stable post-operatively. The newborn presented with mild cyanosis, an oxygen saturation of 80%, which resolved after 24 hours of oxygen administration. Both mother and baby were discharged from the hospital one week after laparotomy in a stable state. This case illustrates that intra-abdominal pregnancies, though rare and complex, can be managed to term and produce viable fetuses. Practitioners should, therefore, understand the challenges in its management.