MOTHER of two, Alexis Syfox, succumbed yesterday morning at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after being placed on life support mere days ago.
Her death was as a result of placenta accreta, a high-risk complication associated with pregnancy.Syfox, who resided in suburban Guyhoc, had been battling for survival at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for nearly a week, and succumbed in the wee hours of the morning yesterday, leaving to mourn her husband and two children.

The cause of her death, according to Minister in the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, is placenta accreta which is a severe pregnancy condition that arises when parts of the placenta (an organ that is responsible for nourishing the fetus) grows deeply into the walls of the uterus.
While many hold the view that the Hospital is often responsible for maternal deaths, given the countless reported cases, Dr. Cummings noted that in this instance, Syfox’s scenario was inevitable.
“It was inevitable and beyond our control, since it was a case of placenta accreta, which the patient and doctors were not aware of until she was being placed on the operating table,” Dr. Cummings said.
She said, too, that the patient previously had caesarean sections for both of her children, and with this being her third caesarean section, it resulted in a case of placenta accreta. Once a case of placenta accreta is suspected, an early C-Section delivery is advised, followed by a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus).
But in Syfox’s case, that route had to be diverted, since she bled uncontrollaby, resulting in her having two cardiac arrests, and upon resuscitation, kidney dysfunction. This was all prior to her being placed on life support.
Repeated cases of caesarean section can result in placenta accreta, and moreso in cases like Syfox’s. But Dr. Cummings believes this can avoided, once pregnant mothers adhere to their prescribed clinic visits rather than assuming their pregnancy is “under control”.
Dr Cummings further stated that so far, the Ministry of Public Health is working assiduously to enable cases like Syfox’s to be avoided in the near future.

By Shivanie Sugrim