Mom gives birth in Covid-19 coma

Pregnancy and childbirth were not the happiest experiences for 29-year-old Serena Torres in New York.

When she was six months pregnant she discovered she had contracted Covid-19. Her health quickly deteriorated and with her organs shutting down she was admitted to intensive care.

Before things turned for the worse, Serena was put into an induced coma and gave birth to her daughter, Allesandra, through a C-section birth. Allesandra weighed 1.81kg and was born two months before her due date.

Allesandra spent one month in the neonatal care unit, while her mother spent six months in hospital, two of those in intensive care. Serena only came out of her coma six weeks after the induction.

“My health really declined after the C-section, so basically I had been staying alive for her,” Serena tells ABC News. With amputated toes, a paralysed vocal cord and muscle tremors, she continued to stay strong just to be able to hold her daughter again.

Her daughter was Covid-19 negative and due to the risk of contracting the virus, Serena could only video call her. Those video calls kept her going until she could finally hold her daughter in her arms. The day she finally did was the happiest day of her entire life. She was overwhelmed by joy and could not control her tears.

Pregnancy and Covid-19 complications

Covid-19 complications have taken their toll on pregnant moms, some never getting the chance to hold their babies and see Mother’s Day.

South Africa’s Anishca Morrison gave birth via emergency C-section in December 2020. She never got to hold her baby because of her Covid-19 status and further pneumonia complications.

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She passed away in January 2021.

Serena said she will throw a big party to celebrate being able to come home to her daughter.