Pregnant and Struck by Lightning: A Brief History

A Colorado mom who was struck by lightning- yes lightning-during her first trimester gave birth to a healthy baby girl this week. At three months pregnant, Stephanie Alberti was at a stock car race when she was knocked over and temporarily paralyzed by a freak bolt that hit her straight on. The next six months were spent worrying about how it will affect her unborn child. But after a difficult delivery- the child's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck-Alberti gave birth to a health 6.5 pound baby girl.

Was this a first for modern medicine? I assumed so until I did a little digging.

In fact, lightning strikes and pregnancies go way back. The earliest occurrence on record is 1883. At least 12 cases have since been recorded. According to pregnancy medical journals, the survival rate for moms is 100 percent, while the survival rate for the fetus is about 50 percent. (That's the opposite of the odds in the movie "Powder" by the way.)

A similar case to Alberti's occurred in 1963 in Wales on a sheep farm. A young woman was also in her first trimester when she was hit by a bolt. Despite her initial burns and loss of consciousness, she healed quickly and eventually delivered a healthy baby.

Despite the rare misfortune of a freak lightning attack, the Handbook of Electrical Hazards and Accidents makes moms-to-be sound like moving targets. "Amniotic fluid is highly conducting," according to the journal's account of one instance, "and probably carried a substantial portion of the current."

But are babies who do survive the shock better off? Alberti's been joking that her child may have super-powers. Hear this now: A recently published biography of George Washington claims his mom, Mary, was mildly struck by lightning when she was pregnant with the country's first president.

One more weird lightning account for you: a very ancient letter published in the late 1880s in the American Journal of Medical Sciences asserts that a 70-year-old woman who was struck by lightning suddenly became fertile again and had to handle a heavy flow for the rest of her days.

Lightning works in mysterious ways, folks.

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