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(Picture: PA)A woman who was in a coma with coronavirus while pregnant has spoken out about the day she woke up after her baby was born.
Marriam Ahmad had gone into the Grange hospital in Cwmbran, Wales in January after testing positive for Covid-19.
The 27-year-old paralegal had left her overnight bag at home as she did not expect to be there for more than an afternoon.
But Ms Ahmad’s condition quickly spiralled leaving her in what she describes as a “very scary” situation.
The mother of two, who was only 29-weeks at the time and suffers from asthma, told the BBC: “All of a sudden, my oxygen mask was on a much higher setting - I couldn’t hear properly.
“It was very loud. I had someone washing my face, looking after me. I was very weak,” she added.
It was then that she was told she needed a Caesarean section.
Although doctors told her she would be conscious for the procedure - this decision quickly changed and they decided she needed to be put into a coma.
“It just happened so quickly.
“It was within about five minutes, they told me ‘you’re going on a ventilator, you’re having a c-section, the baby’s going to come out, you’ll be unconscious, you might not make it. Say goodbye,” she told the broadcaster.
Mrs Ahmad’s baby, who she and her husband named Khadija, was born on January 18 at 8:27pm and she weighed about as much as a bag of sugar - 1.17kg.
But to the doctors surprise - the 27-year-old woke up the next day on January 19.
“I had no idea what happened,” she said. “ I woke up. Obviously I could see there was nothing in my stomach anymore and I was in a lot of pain.”
After eight weeks in hospital, Khadija went home.
At three-and-a-half months, she is said to be happy, healthy and feeding well - weighing nearly 4kg.
Mrs Ahmad admitted that life with a newborn and a 16-month-old means she “hasn’t really had time to think” about what has happened.
“I am just so grateful - that she’s still alive, that I am still alive.”
