A mother-of-seven is risking her life by going through with a potentially deadly pregnancy despite doctors’ calls to terminate.
Alex Gooding, from Arizona, is currently 18 weeks pregnant with a baby she has named Chloe.
But the pregnancy is a caesarean section ectopic pregnancy (CSEP), where the embryo has implanted inside a deep scar in the uterus.
Doctors have repeatedly urged Ms Gooding to terminate, warning there is a high risk to both her and the fetus, including future infertility and death.
They say the pregnancy could cause severe internal bleeding by tearing open the scar as the baby grows or if the placenta ruptures from implanting in the wrong place.
But Ms Gooding, who is pro-life, has rejected the advice and says she will carry her pregnancy to term.
Alex Gooding (pictured above with her family) has divided the internet with her decision to move forward with her ectopic pregnancy
The above, from Nezhat surgery in New York City, shows the appearance of the uterus if it has a scar from a C-section. In a CSEP, the embryo implants into the scar
Ms Gooding is Christian Orthodox and has lost six fetuses to miscarriages or complications.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘The overall consensus among the medical field is to terminate these pregnancies due to high morbidity and mortality for the mother.
‘But there is a growing community of advocates for these CSEP babies to conservatively manage the pregnancy and hopefully make it to the survivor side (both mom and baby), which is the choice we have made.’
Ectopic pregnancies occur when fertizlied eggs implant outside the uterus. There are several types of ectopic pregnancies, some of which implant in the ovary or fallopian tube.
About one to two percent of all pregnancies in the US are ectopic, and the fetus has ‘virtually no chance of survival’, say doctors.
CSEP is rare, occurring in about 0.05 percent of all pregnancies, according to 2019 study, though that number is rising as more women have C-sections.
Doctors say these pregnancies typically do not differ from normal ones in presentation, but they do come with a high risk of complications.
Among them is placenta accreta, when the placenta — a temporary organ that forms in the uterus and connects mom and fetus — grows too deeply into the uterine wall, which can cause heavy bleeding.
Another is placenta percreta, where the placenta grows through the uterine wall and fuses to other organs like the bladder, requiring surgery to remove it.
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, which sets standards for maternal and child health, recommends against continuing a CSEP due to the risks.
But women can reject this advice, as long as healthcare workers first make them aware of the risk.
Ms Gooding’s fetus is currently growing behind the placenta, according to her Instagram posts, and has a heart rate of 154 beats per minute — within the expected range at this stage of the pregnancy.
Her page, which has more than 159,000 followers, has received a flood of negative comments about her decision to continue the pregnancy.
One user wrote: ‘Your living children should come first. You are risking your life and your babies.’
A second said: ‘There’s nothing pro-life about risking your life like this and leaving behind so many motherless children.’
Ms Gooding is now revealing the progress with her pregnancy online, arguing it is possible to carry her fetus to term
The above shows the fetus, which she has named Chloe, in the womb
A TikToker also posted about her, describing her decision to carry the pregnancy to term as selfish to her children.
But there has also been some support for her position online. Commenting on one of her posts, one user wrote: ‘I’m so proud of you for sticking to your beliefs.’
Another said: ‘I truly believe God has favor on you for not killing your baby.’
Ms Gooding found out she had a CSEP at five weeks pregnant and quickly sought the opinion of four doctors — who all told her to terminate.
She also said one doctor told her husband to convince her not to proceed with the pregnancy.
Ms Gooding posted on Instagram: ‘The day we found out that Chloe implanted in my C-section scar and thus was a C-section scar ectopic pregnancy was very hard.
‘The maternal-fetal medicine [specialist] I went to immediately after my first midwife ultrasound told me I needed to terminate.’
However, Ms Gooding and her husband decided not to terminate and are continuing with the pregnancy despite medical advice.
She posted: ‘Choose hope and choose life! Fighting for our sweet Chloe Marie everyday at 18[weeks]+3 [days] c-section scar ectopic pregnancy.
‘To anyone that keeps claiming there are no survivors for this type of ectopic, you are just plain wrong and I’m happy to prove that to you any day of the week.’
Despite her situation, the pregnancy has otherwise been normal so far, with Ms Gooding saying she has suffered from morning sickness and gained about 15lbs.
Ms Gooding and her husband have suffered pregnancy lose in their past, losing six babies to miscarriages or complications
Asked about Ms Gooding’s case, Dr Veronica Gillispie — an obstetrician in New Orleans who has not seen Ms Gooding as a patient— said: ‘The recommendation from the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine is that they recommend against expectant mother’s carrying these pregnancies to term because of the risk of severe morbidity.
‘With that being said, I do believe in patient autonomy. If she has been adequately counseled as to the risks and the benefits, and she understands them, then it is her right to continue the pregnancy.
‘It would just be for the care team to be ready in case something unfortunately does occur throughout the pregnancy, and in terms of considering the timing of delivery and all of those things.’
There is small, anecdotal evidence, that shows it is possible to carry a CSEP to term.
In one study from King’s College London, in the UK, researchers followed ten women who had CSEP who were all diagnosed before week-12 gestation.
None of the mother’s died and all delivered infants between 26 and 38 weeks. (This is just below the average of 40 weeks. A fetus may be viable outside the womb from 24 weeks).
But half of the women had to have their uterus removed due to hemorrhaging, while two also had a pre-term birth after the gestational sac — containing the fetus — protruded outside of the uterus.
Ms Gooding has acknowledged the risks but is choosing to ‘conserveatively manage’ her pregnancy.
She wrote: ‘CSEP come with high morbidity and high mortality for mom and baby.
‘The majority of women that choose to continue their CSEP babies experience [many of these]. This is not downplaying the risk by any means. These are real complications that many face in this kind of ectopic pregnancy.
‘We have chosen to conservatively manage my CSEP with Chloe and give her and I a chance to come out alive on the other end after seeing a 2nd [maternal fetal medicine specialist].’
