A COVID-19 afflicted woman who had been placed on ventilator at Apollo Hospital here has delivered a healthy baby.

A team of doctors accomplished a near miracle by saving the mother and child, despite the patient’s highly critical health condition.

The mother contracted COVID while she was in the seventh month of pregnancy and had to be put on ventilator. A pre-term delivery was performed despite the mother’s condition and both were discharged in a healthy condition.

According to the hospital, the 34-year-old patient Manjula got infected by COVID and was brought to the hospital on July 15 in a very critical condition.

As her condition deteriorated rapidly and saturation levels were dismally low, she had to be put on a ventilator. There was little hope of her survival medically, as nearly 90 per cent of pregnant women who needed ventilation, breathe their last or end up delivering still born pre-term babies.

“During the course of the treatment the mother stopped responding and chances of her survival seemed slim, the team decided to retrieve at least the baby before the mother succumbed. The baby was delivered on July 17 by operating on the mother, while sustaining her on a ventilator,” said the hospital.

The baby too was found not to be responding to resuscitation. The team revived the baby’s heart with medication, but the risk of survival seemed low. The baby later developed a blood stream infection and was treated for it.

The baby gradually recovered and started responding to the treatment. The baby was discharged on Tuesday after making a full recovery,

The mother also made a phenomenal recovery and was discharged on August 10.

One of the doctors from the critical care team ended up getting infected with COVID, but the entire team risked their lives to make this miracle happen despite several odds.