A 31-year-old Dimona woman who had tried to become pregnant for 12 years through
in-vitro fertilization suffered a heart attack during her 30th week of pregnancy
– and delivered healthy triplets soon after undergoing angioplasty of her
coronary arteries.
The drama took place at Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical
Center, which reported the event on Thursday. Two of the baby girls were born at
1.6 kilos, and a third at 1.3 kilos.
The parents named one of the babies
Zohara to honor a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit who devotedly takes
care of them.
The mother, Zinav Alpiomi, was rushed to Kaplan last week
after suffering an acute heart attack. She underwent examination in the heart
institute, headed by Prof. Kobi George, and went for catheterization and the
clearing of her clogged coronary artery. Afterward, she was transferred to the
surgical department to undergo delivery by cesarean section on January
1.
Alpiomi, a special education teacher, and her husband Ahmed were
overjoyed when, after so many pregnancy attempts, she got pregnant via IVF. They
decided to keep all three fetuses out of fear that she would have a spontaneous
abortion. Suddenly she felt labor pains, as well as strong chest pains that
signaled she was having a heart attack, despite her young age. The doctors knew
that to remain viable in her womb, she would need an angioplasty to increase the
blood supply to her heart and stabilize heart function.
Eight days after
giving birth, she saw her daughters for the first time and burst into
tears.
Ahmed said that during their 12 years of infertility, he had given
up, but his wife had insisted on undergoing IVF again despite the
risks.
“We were so close to losing her and the babies, but today we thank
God and the Kaplan medical staff,” the joyful husband said.
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