Amniotic fluid embolism after blunt abdominal trauma

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare, but potentially fatal complication of pregnancy, with an incidence between 1 in 8000 and 1 in 80,000 pregnancies. The pathogenesis is not fully understood, but the generally accepted belief is that amniotic fluid enters the mother's circulation, most commonly via tears in the lower uterine segment. In the fluid there are substances with pro-inflammatory, vasospastic and pro-coagulative properties. AFE after blunt trauma is very rare, only described a few times in the literature. We report a case of fatal AFE after probable minor blunt trauma to the abdomen and give a review of the literature.