Healthy baby Durga was born at 38 weeks weighing 6lb 3oz A woman in Australia has given birth to a healthy baby girl after a rare full-term ectopic pregnancy. Against all odds, baby Durga survived despite developing in her mother's ovary instead of her uterus. Her mother Meera Thangarajah, 34, had shown no signs of abnormality and doctors only realised when they performed a Caesarean section. Most ectopic pregnancies end in miscarriage or are terminated early because of the risk to the mother. With an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo can rupture the fallopian tube, leading to massive internal bleeding - and possibly death - for the mother. Just 1-2% of all pregnancies are ectopic, and in 95% of those cases the egg is fertilised in the fallopian tubes on its way to the uterus. In 0.5% of cases, including this one, the baby grows inside the ovary itself. Pre-natal scan Mrs Thangarajah gave birth on Thursday at the Darwin Private Hospital in Australia's Northern Territory. General manager Robyn Cahill told the Associated Press news agency that mother and baby were both doing well. There is a great risk in such a pregnancy of bleeding
Dr Maggie Blott
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Q&A;: Ectopic pregnancy Normally, a woman with an ectopic pregnancy would present with severe pain and bleeding in the first few weeks after conception. But Ms Cahill said Mrs Thangarajah had experienced no symptoms, and the abnormality did not show up on a pre-natal scan. She said only 1 in 40,000 fertilisations implant in the ovary, and it was unheard of for one of those foetuses grow to full term. But despite those statistics, Durga - meaning Goddess - was born at 38 weeks weighing 6lb 3oz (2.8 kg). "We're calling it a miracle," Ms Cahill said. Risk of bleeding The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the odds of survival in such a pregnancy were "no more than one in a million". Spokeswoman Dr Maggie Blott said: "One that goes to produce a live healthy baby is very unusual. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "There is a great risk in such a pregnancy of bleeding. "And had it been picked up at six to eight weeks, it would have been removed because of the risk to the mother. "This type of pregnancy is very rare indeed." Obstetrician Dr Andrew Miller, who delivered Durga, told AFP news agency that he had not realised there was a problem until he saw the ovary stretched almost to breaking point. "And you can't believe that the baby, just by normal movement, wouldn't have caused the sac [inside the ovary] to rupture," he said. "It was so paper thin you could see the baby's hair." The baby's father, Ravi, told local television that doctors had told him: "You're one of the luckiest men in the world at the moment."
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Doctors performing a Caesarian delivery in a Darwin, Australia hospital were stunned to discover a rare ovarian ectopic pregnancy. According to Robin Cahill, general manager of the Darwin Private Hospital, ovarian pregnancies occur in only 1 in every 40,000 fertilisations.

Darwin Private Hospital
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants in a woman's body in a location other than the uterus. The most common place for an ectopic pregnancy to occur is the Fallopian tubes, accounting for roughly 95% of all ectopic pregnancies. Ectopic pregnancies are generally discovered early, especially as they tend to cause bleeding in the mother, and tend to miscarry or be terminated due to the health risks they pose.

The mother, Meera Thangarajah, however, suffered no complications during her pregnancy, and an ultrasound performed mid-way through the pregnancy did not discover the complication. The hospital's obstetrician Andrew Miller says that having an ovarian pregnancy survive to full-term is "unheard of". The British Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists agrees, with a representative saying the odds of a successful ovarian pregnancy are "no more than one in a million", taking into account both the difficulty of bringing such a pregnancy to term and the tendency for the pregnancy to be terminated when it is discovered early.

The baby, a girl, was named Durga, a Hindu name meaning "goddess", and weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces (2.8 kg). The father, Ravi Thangarajah, says that doctors told him he was "one of the luckiest men in the world".