COVID-19 Pregnant woman on ventilator delivers via emergency C-Section

Gillian McIntosh’s newborn son will hopefully be able to go home from the hospital next week, but his Canadian mother doesn’t know that yet.

In fact, she doesn’t even know he’s been born.

McIntosh tested positive for COVID-19 on November 6,  and her condition quickly deteriorated. She was hospitalized on Nov. 10 and placed on a ventilator in an induced coma. She was two days shy of 36 weeks pregnant.

Doctors at Abbotsford Regional Hospital in British Columbia delivered her second child by emergency Caesarean section while she fought for her life.

In a statement to CTV News Vancouver, McIntosh’s husband David said his newborn son had tested negative for COVID-19 and was being monitored in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

“I anticipate being able to bring him home next week, and would love nothing more than to be able to bring my wife home as well,” David McIntosh said. “Unfortunately, Gillian remains in an induced coma and on a ventilator. Medical staff report that Gillian is fighting very hard.”

A GoFundMe page set up to help the family manage expenses while Gillian is in hospital and David has to stay home from work has exceeded its goal of $50,000.

In his statement, David McIntosh thanked both hospital staff and the broader community for their support.

“I’d like to first thank the staff in the ICU and NICU for their outstanding care of my wife and son during these trying circumstances,” he said. “Our family is also tremendously appreciative of the outpouring of support from the greater community during what has been a challenging time for all.”

The family is not sure how Gillian contracted COVID-19, but says her case underscores the importance of stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

“Despite following all of the recommendations from our Health Authorities, our family has learned first hand the cruel and unpredictable nature of COVID-19,” David McIntosh said. “Gillian, healthy and only 37 years old, and our newborn son are an important example of the seriousness of this virus and the importance to remain vigilant in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”