Hospital staff moved the mother's legs throughout the pregnancy to simulate walking so the child would grow.
A healthy baby girl has been been born 117 days after her mother was declared brain-dead.
The little girl was born weighing 4 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 16.5 inches on Aug. 15, according to University Hospital in Brno, Czech Republic.
"This case is unique not only in the Czech Republic but also worldwide," the hospital said in a press release.
The baby's mother, who has not been identified, was 15 weeks pregnant when she suffered a severe stroke in April and was rushed to the hospital unconscious. The 27-year-old woman was declared brain-dead shortly after her arrival, according to the hospital.
Because she had been in good health before her stroke and because of the swift attention from medical staff, doctors determined the fetus — which had a healthy heartbeat when the mother arrived at the hospital — could develop and grow, the hospital said.
So doctors kept the mother on artificial life support to keep the fetus alive and even moved the woman's legs to simulate walking so the child would grow, Reuters reported.
The woman underwent regular ultrasounds and, in treatment that was filmed and released by the hospital, staff are seen gently touching her stomach and placing toys on it.
Despite complications, the baby was kept alive in the womb for 117 days before delivery via Cesarean section. She was carried to 34 weeks gestation.
After the baby's birth, medical staff disconnected the mother's life support and she passed away surrounded by family, including her husband.
"This has really been an extraordinary case when the whole family stood together ... without their support and their interest it would never have finished this way," said Pavel Ventruba, head of gynecology and obstetrics at the hospital, Reuters reported.
In 2017, a brain-dead mother in Brazil was reportedly kept on life support for 123 days before giving birth to twins.
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