A 28-year-old mum gave birth to a baby while in a coma fighting Covid.
Sophie Byrne had no idea that son Joseph had been born while she was on a ventilator, reports The Echo.
Sophie, mum to William, eight, and Amelia, five, was placed on a ventilator and spent nine weeks in hospital after catching Covid while pregnant.
A team from Liverpool Women's Hospital were brought in to deliver her baby 11 weeks early while she was still in the coma.
Sophie's family was warned she may not survive.
Sophie said: "Staff at the Royal informed my family that I might not survive the delivery because I was so weak. They allowed Joseph's dad to come in and see me but not my parents due to the risk of Covid."
Joseph was born healthy despite being 11 weeks premature and was moved to a neonatal ward while Sophie continued to battle coronavirus on a ventilator.
She said: "He was in intensive care briefly and then onto a neo-natal ward. "
Sophie is now continuing to recover from the virus at home having contracted pneumonia as a complication of her illness.
She said: "I had to learn to walk again because I had been in bed for so long. And I had to learn to eat again after undergoing a tracheotomy. It's been hard and there is a long road ahead."
She added: "I got to hold Joseph for the first time on October 4. They let me see Joseph for the first time in mid September through FaceTime. But I was heavily sedated and can't remember a thing about that day now."
Sophie wants to raise awareness of the seriousness of contracting coronavirus and the need to get vaccinated.
She said: "Covid nearly killed me and I had no underlying health conditions. I was not vaccinated but that was because I was pregnant.
"I am now due to be vaccinated soon and can't wait. People need to take this seriously. I did not doubt Covid existed but did not fully appreciate how devastating it could be."
Sophie said she had delayed getting the vaccine while she was pregnant.
The Guardian reports that The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) says just 15% of pregnant women have had two doses of the vaccine so far.
England’s top midwife has urged expectant mums to get the vaccine.
