Polite Dissent

I apologize for the delay, but I’m a little behind on reading and reviewing comics. As the summer comes and things slow down in the office, I should be able to catch up.

Hard Time #12 “Sixteen”
Steve Gerber, writer
Brian Hurtt, penciler

Arturo and Mercedes are getting married in the prison chapel. Mercedes is somewhere around her 38th or 39th week of pregnancy. Just as the ceremony is concluding, Mercedes develops severe abdominal pain and starts bleeding profusely. Her maid of honor (more or less) yells out: “Guard! I’m a nurse, this woman is losing her baby!”

The doctor and medics come but it appears Mercedes is in bad shape as the doctor can’t find a pulse.

Then the series ends abruptly, and we never find out what happens to Mercedes or the baby.

Mercedes is most like suffering a placental abruption. This occurs when the placenta shears away from the wall of the uterus. The more of the placenta that separates from the wall, the more serious the abruption.

An abruption can be dangerous to both the mother and the child. The placenta is the lifeline to the baby, so if it is damaged or stops functioning, the health – and very survival – of the baby may be at risk. A large hemorrhage from the abruption can also put the mother’s life at risk because of the amount of blood lost. Treatment for an abruption depends of its severity. Mild cases may require just bed rest and observation while severe cases sometimes require the Intensive Care Unit, blood transfusions and an immediate caesarean section.

Based on the description and the depiction of Mercedes, it is most likely that she had a severe abruption and I suspect that neither she nor the child will survive.

This is the second recent comic to depict a placental abruption. Fallen Angel #18 mentioned it as well, but in that case the abruption was due to trauma.