On January 5th, Volume 10 Members, Fort Worth Zoo and Dr. Jaime Erwin of VIVI Women’s Health, teamed up to attend to a 33-year-old expecting Fort Worth mother named Sekani. Sekani, however, was not the typical patient of board-certified OBGYN Dr. Erwin, who practices at VIVI Women’s Health. A western lowland gorilla, Sekani, is a longtime resident of Fort Worth Zoo.

The Fort Worth Zoo recruited Dr. Erwin and a volunteer team of human reproductive and neonatal specialists to treat Sekani after she showed signs of pre-eclampsia, a serious condition involving high blood pressure during pregnancy that can occur in both humans and primates. It was the first time in the Zoo’s history a primate was delivered by cesarean.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Dr. Erwin says. “This is definitely a highlight of my career to assist with the zoo team and the veterinarians. Truly, after that first incision, it was business as usual. The anatomy is exactly the same. Sekani’s pelvis is slightly more narrow than that of a human female, but the procedure was to the T exactly, like what we do in the human population. Just fascinating and wonderful.”

The baby, born at just three-pounds, has been named Jameela, the Swahili word for “beautiful.” Fittingly, the name is a nod to Dr. Erwin and her role in safely delivering the gorilla.

“Any gorilla birth is tremendous. It’s really important for the species,” explains John Griffioen, a veterinarian and Fort Worth Zoo Assistant Director of Animal Programs and Conservation. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Western lowland gorillas also have an alarmingly low reproductive rate — at an observed rate of 3% population increase. Zoo officials explain that, even if there was a drastic decline in the threats to gorillas (hunting and disease), it could take at least 75 years for population recovery to occur in optimistic scenarios.

“For our team, it’s even more meaningful to see all of this come together so quickly, to know that we have this community support that’s ready to jump in and help us,” continues Dr. Griffioen. “And then to know that our own teams came together for this really complicated, really intensive [event]. We’ve really all come together. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will never forget this experience, and we are so pleased at how well she is doing. I think that is a testament to the care here.”

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The successful collaboration between VIVI Women’s Health‘s Dr. Erwin, Fort Worth Zoo, and Fort Worth’s wealth of talented zoological and medical experts has made local and national news. And for good reason: it’s a historical achievement with long-term implications for the gorilla species. We could not be more honored to include these individuals and institutions in our guide to Fort Worth. They truly make Fort Worth — and the world — a better place.

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