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Woman who had baby during open heart surgery meets son for first time

A US woman with less than a one per cent chance of survival has met her newborn son after undergoing surgery while pregnant with him.

Danielle Gaither, 31, was rushed to an emergency room in North Carolina while pregnant in Ferbuary after suffering chest pains.

One doctor said she had less than a one per cent chance of survival after rupturing an artery to her heart.

“She had ruptured her main artery to the heart, called the aorta, and without that, there's no circulation to all the organs in the body,” the doctor said.

K.V. prepares to meet his mum. Source: Carolinas HealthCare System
K.V. prepares to meet his mum. Source: Carolinas HealthCare System

Adding to the difficulty was the fact Ms Gaither was 39 weeks pregnant and doctors needed to perform a risky procedure to save her and her unborn son.

Dr Jeko Madjarov said doctors had to perform a surgical technique to stop the blood circulation.

"But Danielle's son needed blood flow in order to survive,” Dr Madjarov said.

“This case was extremely rare."

Ms Gaither holds her boy for the first time. Source: Carolinas HealthCare System
Ms Gaither holds her boy for the first time. Source: Carolinas HealthCare System

With time against them surgeons made the call to perform two surgeries at the same time – delivering the baby while Ms Gaither received open-heart surgery.

After six hours in the operating room Ms Gaither’s son K.V. was born.

Ms Gaither has spent the past three months recovering from her operation but after 111 days has finally managed to meet her son.

"It was a miracle that I had my baby," Mr Gaither said.

"I'm glad that I'm here and I thank Dr Madjarov and the team, along with God, for saving my life."

In a video provided by Carolinas HealthCare System Ms Gaither is seen staring lovingly into the eyes of the baby she had long odds of ever meeting.

She is expected to make a full recovery.