LOS ANGELES - Pop diva Madonna had an emergency operation to save the life of her unborn baby after suffering complications in her pregnancy, it emerged yesterday.
The star was rushed to the Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles suffering from abdominal pains and blood loss three weeks before baby Rocco was due.
Doctors discovered she had a detached placenta which was cutting off the baby's oxygen supply. The condition can be life-threatening to both the mother and the unborn child.
Madonna underwent an emergency caesarean section with lover Guy Ritchie by her side, according to reports.
A hospital source said: "Madonna lost a lot of blood. For any mother, just seeing that amount of blood is terrifying."
Madonna had been due to give birth at the city's Good Samaritan Hospital, where her first child, Lourdes, was delivered four years ago.
But when she began losing blood she was taken to the nearest hospital, Cedars Sinai, where Catherine Zeta-Jones gave birth to Dylan last week.
Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, refused to confirm whether the singer was still in hospital.
But Rosenberg did reveal that Madonna was "overjoyed."
"She is safe, as is little Rocco. Guy and Lourdes are by her side."
- NZPA
Doctors save Madonna and her baby
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