Mom on ventilator for COVID gives birth to baby two months early, Oklahoma dad says
An Oklahoma mother gave birth while on a ventilator and fighting COVID-19, her husband says.
Brandon and Laura Hix of Tulsa were infected with the coronavirus in early April, and while he recovered within a few weeks she was hospitalized with pneumonia.
Then Laura, who was pregnant with a girl, was put on a ventilator as she struggled to breathe, her husband posted on Facebook.
“She was trying to pass along information but she can’t really talk so we had to try to wrap our conversation up quickly, they intubated, and so she’s been out of the loop for a week now and all of these things are happening,” Hix told KTUL.
Laura’s condition was worsening as her oxygen levels dropped, putting the baby at risk, Hix posted on Facebook.
Her doctors decided delivering the baby by cesarean section — two months before her due date — was the best option to allow for a more aggressive treatment on Laura, he said.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of mixed emotions right now,” Hix posted Facebook. “I’m both devastated and elated. Devastated for Laura as she continues this fight for her life, devastated that she won’t be awake for the delivery, concerned that our baby will have complications, but on the flip side, tomorrow I get to meet my baby girl.”
On Thursday, Bailey Elizabeth Hix was born, weighing 2 pounds and 9 ounces. Though she didn’t experience complications, Bailey was in the newborn intensive care unit, where she can keep growing, Hix said.
“They said she was very feisty,” Hix posted on Facebook.
Meanwhile, Laura continued battling COVID-19 with “bigger steps” in treatment toward reducing her dependence on oxygen and removing her from the ventilator.
“I’m obviously elated. The baby has been born and I’m so excited for that, and then on the other side of the hospital, my wife is fighting for her life,” Hix told KTUL.
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