A 26-year-old Israeli mother of four suffering from the coronavirus has given birth to a healthy boy via emergency C-section while hooked up to a ventilator, hospital officials told The Post.
The woman — who lives in Bnei Brak just east of Tel Aviv – walked into the maternity center of Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer late last month, while suffering from nausea and vomiting, hospital spokeswoman Jodie Singer said.
The young woman was unaware that she was suffering from COVID-19, but soon tested positive and her contractions began.
“The delivery began in a special coronavirus-dedicated delivery room, but when the mother went into respiratory distress, she was transferred quickly into a specially prepared operating room,” Singer said in an email.
“While the mother was intubated and hooked up to a lifesaving ventilator, doctors performed a successful emergency C-section and delivered a healthy baby boy,” she said, adding that the baby weighed just under 6 pounds.
The newborn has tested negative for COVID-19, but the mom has not yet been able to hold him as she fights the disease after spending a week on ventilation at the hospital’s coronavirus critical care unit.
“The reunion is expected to take place within the next week, when the mother is discharged,” Singer said.
The delivery room is designed with negative pressure and a minimal amount of equipment, which ensures that the medical staff can move around more easily in their protective gear.
“Since this delivery, the coronavirus delivery room has been put to use several more times. Each baby has been born healthy and has tested negative for the virus,” she said.
Prof. Eldad Katorza, senior physician at Sheba’s Gynecology and Maternity Center, told The Post in a statement: “Thankfully, at Sheba we are always thinking two steps ahead and we had both the delivery room and operating room fully prepared to handle coronavirus patients.”
He added: “We were able to move quickly to perform an emergency caesarean section and deliver a healthy and happy baby boy.”
On Friday morning, the number of coronavirus patients in Israel surged past 10,000, leaving 95 people dead, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem and Bnei Brak have the highest number of cases in the country — 1,780 and 1,681, respectively, according to the Israeli Health Ministry, the news outlet reported.
