Mother of two who weighed only 24kg treated for rare disorder

BENGALURU: Aged 26 and a mother of two children, she weighed only 24kg. The woman from West Bengal battled severe breathing problems, rapid weight loss and was diagnosed with tuberculosis at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital (BMJH) in Girinagar. That wasn’t all.
Kumudeni Barman was later diagnosed with a rare disorder called Sheehan’s syndrome, which may affect a woman who has severe uterine haemorrhage during childbirth. Severe blood loss during delivery causes decline in production of the pituitary hormone. Thanks to the right treatment, Kumudeni is on the road to recovery.

The condition is hardly seen in developing countries due to institutional care during delivery, but it affected Kumudeni. The pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain, is responsible for producing various hormones that help regulate growth, reproduction and metabolism.

The woman was brought to the hospital on February 26 and was discharged on March 9. Eight months ago, she had delivered her second child in West Bengal. Dr Rinki Das, consultant, critical care, BMJH, said: “She was in a critical condition and was in shock when she arrived. Our immediate task was to stabilise her. We resuscitated her and she was kept in the ICU. The next step was to identify the cause of the shock.”

Kumudeni was diagnosed with TB, but even after starting the treatment her blood pressure remained low, which made doctors investigate further to identify other overlapping causes. The possibility of autoimmune disorders was ruled out. What complicated the case more was that Kumudeni had suffered a stroke and her speech was affected — an MRI scan showed a blood clot in the brain. The team involved a neurologist and continued the treatment, but the underlying cause was still not clear.

A revelation by her husband, who said Kumudeni had breast fed her second child only for 15 days as she wasn’t able to produce milk after that, helped doctors.

Dr Abhay G, consultant endocrinologist who treated her, said in case of unscheduled delivery, there are chances of the mother suffering from acute blood loss. “In Kumudeni’s case, symptoms like loss of appetite, low blood pressure and weight loss continued when she was treated for TB. That’s when we checked her hormone levels and found the anomaly. She was diagnosed with Sheehan’s syndrome. If blood supply to the pituitary gland is restricted, hormonal production faces an imbalance. There are rare instances of the pituitary gland not functioning properly. As the gland is responsible for production of hormones required for lactation and menstruation, someone with a non-functional pituitary gets affected,” he explained. Spontaneous delivery could be one of the reasons for her trauma.