Hospital (stock image)
Hospital (stock image)iStock

A 33-year-old woman is in serious condition at a Jerusalem hospital Tuesday, due to complications while giving birth.

The woman arrived at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s maternity ward early Tuesday morning to give birth, but suffered an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) while in labor.

A rare and life-threatening complication, amniotic fluid embolism occur when amniotic fluid – the liquid surrounding the unborn child – enters into the bloodstream of the expecting mother, typically shortly before or during labor.

In some cases, AFEs can cause the mother’s lungs to collapse, and in chain reaction, eventually lead to complete cardiovascular collapse.

As a result of the AFE, the mother giving birth at Shaare Zedek suffered cardiac arrest and lung collapse, and has been listed in serious condition.

Doctors were able to perform an emergency caesarean section and safely deliver the woman’s child, who was transferred to the hospital’s nursery for premature babies in good condition.

The mother was transferred to the Shaare Zedek’s intensive care ward, and has been hooked up to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) life support system.