Andrea’s pregnancy is no longer viable, but doctors cannot intervene due to Maltese legislation unless she goes into labor or develops sepsis.
Andrea and Jay never thought they were in this situation: praying that their daughter’s heart would stop beating before Andrea developed a potentially deadly infection.
The couple, from the United States, were on vacation in Malta when Andrea Prudente, 16 weeks pregnant, began to lose blood. Doctors said the placenta was partially detached and her pregnancy was no longer viable.
But the baby’s heart was still beating – and in Malta this means that, by law, doctors cannot terminate a pregnancy.
The couple has been waiting for a week, confined to a hospital room.
“We sit here with the knowledge that if he goes into labor, the hospital will take action. If the baby’s heart stops, they will help him. Other than that, they will do nothing,” Jay Weeldreyer tells the BBC over the phone.
His voice is tired and irritated. She fears that Andrea’s conditions may change rapidly at any moment.
“With the bleeding and separation of the placenta from the uterus, with the membrane completely ruptured and the baby’s umbilical cord protruding from Andrew’s cervix, he is at extraordinarily high risk of infection, which could have been avoided,” he says. .
“The child cannot live, there is nothing that can be done to change it. We wanted it, we still want it, we love it, we wish it could survive but it won’t. And not only are we in the situation we are losing a daughter we wanted. , as the hospital is also prolonging Andrea’s risk exposure “, he adds.
Their only hope is an emergency medical transfer to the UK, paid for by travel insurance.
In 2017, another tourist had to be transferred to France for an emergency abortion. But for Maltese women, this is not an option.
Abortion is illegal in Malta
The island has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe: terminating a pregnancy is illegal, even when the fetus has no chance of survival.
It is a law that the lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, president of the Women’s Rights Foundation of Malta, has been fighting for years.
“Women here rarely have a voice,” she says.
“The general practice is that doctors either let the body expel the fetus on its own, or – if the patient becomes seriously ill and develops sepsis – then they intervene to try and save the mother’s life.”
“We know that, on average, there are two or three cases like this every year, but after Andrea went public with her story on social media, we started to see many other women come forward and share their experiences.”
Dimitrijevic says the law must change because a practice like this is not only a risk to women’s health, but also a psychological trauma for them and their families.
The BBC reached out to the Maltese government and hospital administration for comment but received no response.
After six days of waiting for one of two terrible things to happen, Jay tells me that he and his wife are exhausted.
“This procedure could have been done in two hours, without putting Andrea at risk and making us suffer,” he says.
“Instead, it’s this extended thing, where you end up with really dark thoughts, wondering how it could end?”
‘This text was originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-61907263‘
Source: Terra
Benjamin Smith is a fashion journalist and author at Gossipify, known for his coverage of the latest fashion trends and industry insights. He writes about clothing, shoes, accessories, and runway shows, providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives. He’s respected for his ability to spot emerging designers and trends, and for providing practical fashion advice to readers.
