A pregnant mum who tested positive for Covid gave birth while in a medically-induced coma.
Marriam Ahmad was 29 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to Grange Hospital in Cwmbran in January due to the virus, with her condition quickly deteriorating.
The 27-year-old paralegal suffers from asthma but didn't even think she would be staying over night to begin with, and she and husband Usman hadn't decided on a name for the baby.
She said things turned "very scary" with her oxygen masked turned on to such a high setting she couldn't hear anything else.
Doctors began discussing doing a Caesarean section while Marriam was conscious, but warned her the baby may not survive.
Later that day the mum was told she needed to be put into a coma, and a doctor held her hand while admitting she "may not come back".
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"It just happened so quickly," Marriam told the BBC..
"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 called her parents in tears and the doctor rang Usman, who was looking after the couple's son Yusuf, nine, at home in Newport.
After giving birth, miraculously Marriam woke up at midday the following day to the surprise of her doctors.
"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."
The mum was not allowed to see her baby for a week and instead nurses showed her photos and videos.
Marriam and Usman eventually decided on the name Khadija, which means "strong" in Islamic faith, as their daughter suffered no complications during the difficult birth.
After eight weeks in hospital, during which time Marriam sent constant deliveries of breast milk, baby Khadija is now home.
