Brain-Dead Woman's Baby Doing Well

Doctors at a Virginia hospital said they're "very optimistic" about the prognosis for a premature baby delivered two days ago by her brain-dead mother.

The baby's mother lost brain function three months ago after suffering a stroke brought on by cancer. The family of Susan Torres decided to keep her on life support so the baby could be delivered healthy. The baby was delivered Tuesday by Caesarean section.

Little Susan Anne Catherine Torres is about two months premature and weighs less than two pounds.

But Dr. Donna Tilden-Archer, director of neonatology at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., said Thursday the baby is "doing remarkably well."

Tilden-Archer, appearing on CBS News The Early Show, said, "She's a beautiful baby. I checked in on her this morning and she's breathing on her own. And she's only requiring a very small amount of oxygen. She was sleeping on her tummy very peacefully, doing quite well."

Doctors removed Torres, 26, from life support Wednesday with the consent of her husband after she received the final sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church.

"We thank all of those who prayed and provided support for Susan, the baby and our family," Jason Torres said in a statement. "We especially thank God for giving us little Susan. My wife's courage will never be forgotten."

Susan Torres, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in May after melanoma spread to her brain. With no hope for recovery, her family decided to keep her alive to give her fetus a chance.

It became a race between the fetus' development and the cancer that was ravaging the woman's body. Doctors said that Torres' health was deteriorating and that the risk of harm to the fetus finally outweighed the benefits of extending the pregnancy.

English-language medical literature contains at least 11 cases since 1979 of irreversibly brain-damaged women whose lives were prolonged for the benefit of the developing fetus, according to the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Dr. Christopher McManus, who coordinated care for Susan Torres, put the infant's chances of developing cancer at less than 25 percent. He said 19 women who have had the same aggressive form of melanoma as Torres have given birth, and five of their babies contracted the disease.

McManus said there were no signs the cancer had crossed the placenta, which would greatly increase the baby's risk for the disease. McManus said the placenta itself is being examined for any evidence of cancer.

Jason Torres had quit his job to be by his wife's side, spending each night sleeping in a reclining chair next to her bed. The couple have one other child — 2-year-old Peter, who has been staying with his grandparents.

"This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, the woman's brother-in-law, said in a statement.

A Web site was set up to help raise money for the family's mounting medical bills and had raised more than $600,000 as of Tuesday. Any excess money will be donated to cancer research and to establish a college savings plan for the two children.