A baby girl born in Chiapas with Covid-19 transmitted by her mother is safe and sound at home after a 47-day battle for her life.

As soon as the infant, identified only as Sofía, was born premature in a private hospital, doctors attending her birth noticed that she was having serious problems breathing. She was transferred that day to a public hospital in Tapachula, operated by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), where she was isolated in a special Covid-19 ward. 

“From her birth, she couldn’t breathe. The doctors didn’t have time to take her measurements. They connected her immediately to oxygen,” said the child’s mother, identified only as Doris. “Everything was stacked against my daughter, but now she has come home, and we are very excited to get to know her.”   

Doctors suspected Covid infection in Sofía when she displayed symptoms because her mother had recently been diagnosed with the disease.

“She had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection a month before giving birth,” said Roger Alexis Liévano Cruz, a pediatric cardiologist at the hospital, “and so they gave tests to [Sofía], which came up positive.”    

According to an IMSS spokesperson, Sofia’s treatment required intubation, high-support mechanical ventilation, and “a complex surgery for her age and size,” but she has recovered thanks to a combination of medications and respiratory therapy.

In Mexico City meanwhile, a mother with Covid-19 had a much luckier outcome after doctors ordered an immediate Caesarian section when she showed up for her 36-week wellness check with Covid symptoms.

Doctors at the IMSS clinic sounded the alarm when the mother displayed a fever and low oxygen levels.

The mother, who was eventually diagnosed with Covid-19, had no idea she was sick. She was transported to hospital where doctors treated her respiratory symptoms. The newborn, who was pronounced in good health, is now safe at home with its mother.

Sources: Milenio (sp)