Viagra helps woman to have first baby

A recent story in the Times of India has reported on a lady called Poonkudi who

was having health difficulties whilst pregnant. In the 24th week of Poonkudi's pregnancy 

Viagra was given due to rising blood pressure complications which was endangering the

life of the unborn child.

Her doctors at Jaslok Hospital said if she managed to deliver a live child after four ill-fated pregnancies, it was Viagra that deserved a pat on the back.

Poonkudi's story began over six months ago. The 27-year-old wife of an electrician came to gynaecologist Dr Sudeshna Ray on the recommendation of a parish friend. "At 221/150, her blood pressure was high when she came to us at three-and-a-half months of pregnancy,'' said Dr Ray. Almost immediately the rush to keep the pregnancy going began: Poonkudi was confined to hospital, with round-the-clock monitoring and tests.

A detailed examination revealed her problem—a narrowed right renal artery that was causing blood pressure to build up.

According to Dr Bahadur, every known anti-hypertensive drug was prescribed to Poonkudi in over the usual dosage. A procedure to put a stent in the shrunken artery was abandoned, as it was found to be unfeasible. That is when Dr Bahadur drew upon his previous experience with sildenafil.

Thus, in the 24th week of Poonkudi's pregnancy, sildenafil was started in double the usually recommended dosage, said Dr Bahadur. "We then managed to get her pressure down to acceptable limits,'' he added. It still wasn't smooth sailing; resident doctors and nurses were worried throughout Poonkudi's four-month hospital stay about a possible convulsion brought on by the rising pressure.

Said Dr Ray, "We had to do extensive research using journals, we talked to experts abroad to ascertain the dosages and we were worried about the child's condition in her mother's womb.'' To ensure that she didn't have pre-eclampsia (very high blood pressure with high protein in urine that needs urgent Caesarean section), weekly Doppler and sonography checks were done.

In the 29th week, the daily Doppler test showed high resistance in blood flow patterns. "So within 24 hours, we operated, and her daughter, weighing just 940 grams, was born,'' she added.