Parenting

Mom in Coma Gives Birth & Breastfeeds Her Baby

ParentingPublished May 23, 2014
By Suzee Skwiot
hospital bed

A California woman who has been in a coma since early March has given birth to a healthy baby boy. And with assistance, she's even started breastfeeding her newborn son!

Melissa Carleton has been in a coma for over two months. When she was in her second trimester with baby West Nathaniel Lande, doctors discovered a benign brain tumor. She wanted to wait until after giving birth to operate, but she suffered from a seizure that left her almost fully unconscious. And she hasn't regained her consciousness since March 11.

But Brian Lande, her husband, and the rest of the family did get some pretty amazing news: baby West is perfectly healthy, while Carleton can open her eyes but has yet to fully recover. Still, she's getting plenty of skin-to-skin contact with her baby and is feeding him! Carleton's own mom has said that Melissa seems to be aware that she's given birth.

Wow. It's times like these when we have to take a step back and realize what amazing things medicine can do. Here's a mom who isn't fully conscious, her baby is healthy, and she's able to connect with him just mere moments after his birth. What's more -- she's breastfeeding! She is still able to give this little guy the liquid gold from her body, to do things she dreamed of doing from the beginning of her pregnancy.

We all worry about the world we're bringing our babies into -- that's a natural thing for moms. But the fact is, for all the bad, there's some pretty amazing stuff going on too. Technology -- medical or otherwise -- has the power to give our kids so much that previous generations didn't get.

We hope things turn out well for Melissa and her family.

What has medical technology done for your family?

Image via armyengineersnorfolk/Flickr

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