There is little research on the incidence of amniotic
fluid embolism in subsequent pregnancies.
Abecassis and Benhamou (2006) published a case
study of a 35-year-old lady who was gravida 2 para
1 and who presented for anaesthetic review. The
lady had suffered a severe amniotic fluid embolism
6 years previously and resuscitation had been
successful. She was left with neurological sequelae
with severe paresis of the left hand and facial
paralysis. The next pregnancy went well and the
woman had a spontaneous vaginal delivery under
epidural anaesthesia with no intra or postpartum
problems. The authors suggest that this case study
follows others of the few published which all infer
that there are favourable outcomes for subsequent
pregnancies with no increased risk of recurrence.
However, closer surveillance of any potential symptoms
of amniotic fluid embolism during ante,
intra- and postpartum stages would be advisable.