'Postmortem' cesarean section with recovery of both mother and offspring

A 27-year-old primigravida of 37 weeks' gestation suffered cardiopulmonary arrest after massive hemoptysis. After extensive advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation measures, it was thought that the mother could not be resuscitated and a cesarean section was performed. Immediately after delivery of the fetus, the mother's pulse was palpated, and both the mother and infant are alive without neurological sequelae 20 months later. The reversal of the supine hypotensive syndrome, which was precipitated by massive blood loss, may be the mechanism to account for the restoration of the mother's cardiac output after delivery.