Hadassah doctor helps woman have baby after she was told she couldn't

Jennifer Lopez gave birth to a baby boy after being told by doctors that a pregnancy would be life-threatening following a stroke.

Lopez was born in Ecuador and made aliyah when she was 16. She met her husband in Israel, and the two had a daughter a few years ago. Two years ago, she suffered a stroke and was told that if she got pregnant again, she would probably die.

"I was at work when I started to feel bad," she said. "I took my phone to answer the messages and my phone fell out of my hand. I picked it up, and it fell again. the third time I realized that something strange was going on. I thought that perhaps I had had a stroke, but I convinced myself that there was no way, I'm young! When I stood up from the chair at work, I felt that my left leg had fallen asleep and I dragged it. 

"I picked up the phone to call to my mother – she's a nurse - and I told her what had happened. She told me to get it checked out immediately."

A few hours later, Lopez went to the TEREM Emergency Clinic where she was rushed to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. Tests conducted at the hospital revealed that she was at the beginning of a pregnancy outside the womb. The doctors determined that the pregnancy was the cause of the stroke.

Although she had been warned that a pregnancy could be life-threatening, Lopez and her husband wanted another child, and after consulting with multiple doctors who told her there was no chance of it, they returned to Prof. Jose Cohen who had treated her in Hadassah.

"In consultation with him, it was the first time I did not hear about the catastrophes that awaited me," said Lopez. "We explained to him that we really wanted to have another child and it is very difficult for us to accept that this is the end of the story.

"Cohen understood the situation. He explained to me in detail what the doctors' concerns were, what the deliberations were and what the risks could be, however, he did not forget to say the important fact that everything might go well! That the pregnancy that had been aborted may not have had anything to do with the event that I went through. He promised that he would accompany me no matter the decision that I made. The dilemma was great, but I trusted him and following consultation with my husband, we decided to go forward."

"We work in an era of defensive medicine, it's no secret," says Cohen. "There are many situations in which a pregnant patient suffers from various medical problems and as part of the medical recommendations, she is told to have an abortion or not to get pregnant at all. As far as I'm concerned, giving up a child is giving up a dream, and I don't always agree with that recommendation, because it's a very high price to pay.

"Cohen always had the right answers and the right words for us," said Lopez excitedly, as she embraced her son. “He was confident in himself and in me and thanks to him, I was confident with the decision I had made.