Megan Jeffries, a 27-years-old, gave birth on April 9 to her son after doctors performed an emergency cesarian section on her in Ohio. She was tested for coronavirus when she was seven months pregnant and was later on diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Celina-based nurse was placed in a medically-induced coma and up until the present, has no knowledge that she had already given birth to her second child. During the c-section, Jeffries was sedated and placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which helped oxygenate the blood by pumping it out of the body through an artificial lung, and then back in.
Her baby boy, who was delivered prematurely at 29 weeks, was tested twice for the coronavirus, and both tests came back negative. He now remains in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Megan's husband, Donny, was finally able to hold the baby three days after it was born. The newborn has not yet been given a name as the family is hoping for Megan's consequent recovery.
Devastated by the Mean Virus
Jeffries' family explained on WDTN how she struggled through knowing she was sick with COVID-19 while pregnant.
Her sister-in-law, Kacie Jeffries, heartbrokenly shared how Megan' doesn't know that she had her baby'.
Megan's brother, Shaun Jeffries, described how the virus progressed and evidently worsened Megan's condition within 24 hours. He described it as a 'mean' virus.
Shaun disclosed how her sister was aware of the gravity of the situation she was in. He told reporters how she cried to their mother, saying she didn't want to die. Doctors told the family that the emergency cesarean section was the 'last thing' the doctors could try to do.
The family warned others to take the virus seriously because 'never in a million years' would they have thought that Megan would be infected, and that would be fighting for her life because of it.
Read Also : Anti-Vaxxers Sow Seeds of Doubt That Could Limit the Success of Future Coronavirus Vaccines
Pregnancy in the Time of Coronavirus
Indeed, it's a scary time to be pregnant. However, there is only so much that can be done. Pregnant women these days need to put a 'brave face' on as they fight to keep themselves and the babies they carry healthy and protected.
The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in London claims that pregnant women do not appear to be seriously unwell than other healthy adults if they develop the new coronavirus. They add that it is expected that the vast majority of pregnant women will experience only mild or moderate cold or flu-like symptoms.
Meanwhile, pregnant healthcare workers across the United Kingdom have been vocal about their fear of being pushed into the frontline in this battle against the coronavirus. More apprehension has sparked as it emerged that a nurse who was close to full-term died of COVID-19.
Studies show, atleast, that infants born to mothers with an infection to coronavirus seemed free of the virus and appeared healthy at birth. This was according to a study conducted on nine pregnant women and their babies, which was published in February in The Lancet.
