Mum too ill to know her baby was stillborn says ‘get the jab’
RACHEL HAD COVID WHEN SHE WENT INTO PREMATURE LABOUR
A MOTHER who was so sick with coronavirus that she did not know her baby was stillborn while in hospital is urging others to get jabbed.
Rachel, 38, whose surname has not been disclosed, was so ill with Covid-19 that she did not realise she had given birth to Jaxon at 24 weeks.
She had held off having the vaccine until her son was born because she said there was still uncertainty at the time about whether expectant women should receive the jab.
But after catching the virus, she became so ill she was in a coma for three-and-a-half months.
She has now thanked the staff at Glenfield Hospital and New Cross
Hospital’s integrated critical care unit (ICCU) for treating her and is urging all pregnant women to get vaccinated.
Rachel, who is from Bilston in Wolverhampton, said: “I would say take it – it’s a two-minute thing that can save months of agony if you end up like I was.
“I did initially go to get the vaccine, but at the time the advice was not to have it.
“I thought I’d have the vaccine when I’d had the baby, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
In November 2020, experts warned that while the uptake of the vaccine among pregnant women was increasing, they were worried some groups were shunning the jab.
This included younger women, those from black and minority ethic communities and those in deprived areas. Speaking about her loss, Rachel said: “I didn’t actually know I had given birth. I was on drugs so they wanted to tell me when I wasn’t sedated, and the obstetrician informed me a few days later.
“My emotions were disbelief – one minute you’re having a scan and a gender reveal, naming the baby and getting excited, and then there was this sudden loss.
“I was only able to see him once. Normally I’d have been able to spend a lot more time with him and to hold him. But I didn’t get to do that because of the circumstances.”
She said things have been incredibly difficult for her, her partner and her 18-year-old son.
“We’re all devastated at our loss,” she said. “We were all very excited at this new life then we were left with nothing.”
I thought I’d have the vaccine when I’d had the baby, but it wasn’t meant to be
Rachel