# Woman in coma gives birth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356 "2019-01-07T14:58:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/1 "2019-01-07T14:58:04Z")
[Link](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/01/05/woman-vegetative-state-gave-birth-now-police-are-investigating-sexual-assault/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1962227cdcde). Can you imagine the kind of abuse and neglect it takes to not only rape a comatose patient, but also not notice a baby growing inside of her until she gives birth to him? This is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/2 "2019-01-07T15:29:05Z")
Well, it sure ain’t good, it sure ain’t right, and the perpetrator needs to be held accountable and punished. But (and not to minimize its horror) it’s far from among the worst things I’ve ever seen, sadly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/3 "2019-01-07T15:36:32Z")
Wonder if they’ll DNA-test the baby against DNA collected from everyone who works in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/4 "2019-01-07T15:52:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wonder if they’ll DNA-test the baby against DNA collected from everyone who works in the hospital. Well, at least all the males who work there… I just can’t believe this story. I mean, I’m sure it happened, but it’s unbelievable that someone could do that and no one would notice. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/5 "2019-01-07T15:58:09Z")
And the anti-abortion group does a Happy Dance. “God intended for that baby to be born to that mother.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/6 "2019-01-07T16:07:58Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wonder if they’ll DNA-test the baby against DNA collected from everyone who works in the hospital. I would certainly think/hope so. Frankly, for as bad as the situation is, the resolution is pretty straightforward. You would greatly assume it was someone who worked at the hospital, so you can look back at schedules/time punches for roughly 9 months ago, DNA test the baby and against any males working…and boom. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/7 "2019-01-07T16:09:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And the anti-abortion group does a Happy Dance. “God intended for that baby to be born to that mother.” Do you always have to bring in some abortion/LGBT/religion/atheism non-sequiter into threads like these? This is a repeated pattern of yours. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/8 "2019-01-07T16:11:37Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > Well, at least all the males who work there… Right, all the males. Wonder if this requires a court order or if it’s within the employer’s rights to force DNA tests of this kind? Something about self-incrimination/Constitution/Miranda, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/9 "2019-01-07T16:45:40Z")
Also, unless the comatose woman were obese, how could the hospital staff not have noticed that her abdomen was getting larger and larger by the month? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/10 "2019-01-07T16:50:11Z")
I suppose that it’s possible that they assumed that she was becoming obese, since the possibility that someone had impregnated her was too ludicrous to consider. It’s also possible that the impregnator (I hesitate to use the word “father”) was her primary caregiver, the person whose job it would have been to notice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/11 "2019-01-07T16:55:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s also possible that the impregnator (I hesitate to use the word “father”) was her primary caregiver, the person whose job it would have been to notice. Is that how these facilities work? I had thought that care facilities had several primary caregivers, so the fact that not one of them noticed seemed indicative of some horrible negligence with regards to their duties. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/12 "2019-01-07T17:02:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I suppose that it’s possible that they assumed that she was becoming obese, since the possibility that someone had impregnated her was too ludicrous to consider. Is it possible for a comatose person to become obese in that way? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/13 "2019-01-07T17:05:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is it possible for a comatose person to become obese in that way? Since there is almost no physical exertion, I would imagine that if a comatose patient is fed more calories than he/she burns in a day, that there would be gradual weight gain. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/14 "2019-01-07T17:08:26Z")
If I read it correctly, the article doesn’t mention any relatives of that particular patient; they mention relatives of other patients. Having a person who actually cares about you as a human being makes an enormous difference in the care a defenseless person gets; that’s something we really need to improve as a society, I understand that having some distance from patients is necessary but it shouldn’t get to the point where we think of that incapacitated person as nothing but a lump of meat. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/15 "2019-01-07T17:09:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s also possible that the impregnator (I hesitate to use the word “father”) was her primary caregiver, the person whose job it would have been to notice. A person who requires 24x7 care should have multiple caregivers as any one employee only works roughly ¼ of the time (40 hrs / 168 hrs wk). If she’s been there for 10 years; they’ve been responsible for her caloric intake via a feeding tube for that time. It both costs more & is unhealthy to feed a comatose person enough extra nutrition to keep them obese for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/16 "2019-01-07T17:12:56Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Since there is almost no physical exertion, I would imagine that if a comatose patient is fed more calories than he/she burns in a day, that there would be gradual weight gain. I’ve worked in a couple of health care facilities as an orderly. There is no way she was given enough extra nourishment to gain that much weight in that amount of time, and the nursing staff would have adjusted the intake after the weekly weighing(at the very minimum) was made. Also, any such change in the patient’s condition weight and food intake wise would have been reported to the family. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/17 "2019-01-07T17:25:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Also, any such change in the patient’s condition weight and food intake wise would have been reported to the family. Purely out of curiosity, what method is used to weigh a comatose person? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/18 "2019-01-07T17:35:56Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > [Link](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/01/05/woman-vegetative-state-gave-birth-now-police-are-investigating-sexual-assault/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1962227cdcde). Can you imagine the kind of abuse and neglect it takes to not only rape a comatose patient, but also not notice a baby growing inside of her until she gives birth to him? This is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Well, it sure ain’t good, it sure ain’t right, and the perpetrator needs to be held accountable and punished. But (and not to minimize its horror) it’s far from among the worst things I’ve ever seen, sadly enough. With respect, Doc, you’re kind of a special case… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/19 "2019-01-07T17:38:28Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Do you always have to bring in some abortion/LGBT/religion/atheism non-sequiter into threads like these? This is a repeated pattern of yours. Not to answer for her, but YES, SHE DOES. EVERYBODY does. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356/20 "2019-01-07T17:41:26Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Also, unless the comatose woman were obese, how could the hospital staff not have noticed that her abdomen was getting larger and larger by the month? I understand that, after being hospitalized due to a fall which rendered him comatose, Dr. Atkins (of the Atkins Diet fame), ballooned up to a state of obesity before he died. So the phenomenon is not unheard of (the phenomenon of comatose people getting larger, not of men getting pregnant). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-in-coma-gives-birth/827356.md?page=2)