New Delhi: On May 7, as doctors wheeled her into the operation theatre, Kalpana Gupta knew she was fighting two battles at once. Hours later, a baby girl weighing 1.28 kg was delivered and immediately shifted to specialised neonatal care — a fragile but life-affirming moment that marked the end of a journey defined by fear, endurance and medical precision.For the 32-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, the arrival of her daughter carries a deeper meaning. Kalpana earlier lost a child to stillbirth. When she conceived again, hope returned — only to be upended midway through her fifth month by a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), an aggressive blood cancer that required urgent treatment.The diagnosis turned her pregnancy into a medical emergency, forcing doctors to carefully balance the mother’s survival with the safety of the unborn child. What followed was a months-long race against time, marked by constant monitoring and coordinated care.Kalpana was treated at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, where doctors opted for a calibrated approach — initiating chemotherapy while attempting to prolong the pregnancy for as long as it remained medically safe.“Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia during pregnancy is an extremely rare and high-risk condition. The challenge lies in controlling an aggressive cancer while carefully balancing foetal safety. Through coordinated multidisciplinary care and timely chemotherapy, we were able to stabilise the disease and safely prolong the pregnancy to improve neonatal outcomes,” said Dr Dharma Choudhary, chairman, haemato-oncology, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital.For several months, Kalpana underwent treatment under continuous supervision as doctors tracked both disease progression and foetal development.At 32 weeks, however, foetal monitoring showed growth restriction and altered blood flow patterns, prompting doctors to take an immediate decision to deliver.Led by Dr Alka Sinha, head unit, gynaecology and laparoscopic surgery, the medical team performed an emergency caesarean section on May 7.“This was a highly sensitive pregnancy, not only medically but emotionally, given the patient’s previous pregnancy loss,” Dr Sinha said. “Our focus was to safely extend the pregnancy for as long as possible while continuously monitoring both mother and baby.”While the newborn continues to receive specialised neonatal care and Kalpana prepares for the next phase of her leukaemia treatment, the moment she held her daughter for the first time marked a turning point after months of uncertainty. For Kalpana, this Mother’s Day marks the start of a new chapter.
