After C-section, boy is well, mom is stable, but no relatives visit: Father is in same northern Israeli hospital with COVID-19, and family live in locked down hotspot Deir al-Asad

Illustrative photo of a maternity ward in an Israeli hospital. (Flash90)
Illustrative photo of a maternity ward in an Israeli hospital. (Flash90)

 

In a delivery room drama amid the coronavirus pandemic, quick-thinking doctors performed a successful C-section just moments before the baby could have faced danger from the mother’s deterioration.

Yael Shaki-Tamir preparing for surgery at Ziv Medical Center in Safed (courtesy)
Yael Shaki-Tamir preparing for surgery at Ziv Medical Center in Safed (courtesy)

The 27-year-old COVID-19 patient at Ziv Hospital in Safed wouldn’t have given birth naturally for another seven weeks, but when her breathing deteriorated badly on Sunday evening, doctors became worried that the baby could be harmed from a lack of oxygen.

“She had become very feeble, with quick sallow breathing,” surgeon and head of Ziv’s Ultrasound Gynecology Unit Yael Shaki-Tamir told The Times of Israel.

“She felt starved of air and oxygen and was very restless. When we took her vital signs we realized she was not good, and it was really disconcerting.”

The mother, who had been admitted four days previously in a mild condition, was put on a ventilator moments before the C-section, and while now stabilized, still needs breathing support. The baby boy is coronavirus negative and, apart from some respiratory issues related to premature delivery, doing well, said Shaki-Tamir.

But she said there is a heart-wrenching aspect to the story. The mother isn’t seeing the baby because of the risk of passing coronavirus. Neither is the father, who is also at Ziv with the virus. And as their home town of Deir al-Asad is badly affected by the virus — it is actually locked down by government as a “restricted area” — there isn’t a single relative who can visit him.

“The father said that everyone in the family is sick,” said Shaki-Tamir. “To me, this is sad. There’s a baby who has no family members to hold or hug him.”

Dr. Yael Shaki-Tamir going to pay a follow-up visit to a Coronavirus patient, after performing her C-section on April 21, 2020 (courtesy)
Dr. Yael Shaki-Tamir going to pay a follow-up visit to a Coronavirus patient, after performing her C-section on April 21, 2020 (courtesy)

 

When the mother was admitted last week she had minimal symptoms — a headache and very mild breathing issues. But late Sunday, Shaki-Tamir said, “we understood she was deteriorating significantly.” They discussed the situation with her, with the help of her husband who translated from Hebrew to Arabic, and decided to operate, starting around midnight.

Her coronavirus status raised several complications. World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists has warned that risk of infection is particularly high when patients are receiving anesthetic. “Everyone was dressed in protective equipment, but we still went out of the room for the anesthesia,” said Shaki-Tamir.

Guidelines regarding who could be in the room at which point were so complicated that the head nurse was stationed at the doorway to direct comings and goings.

General anesthetic was necessary because of coronavirus symptoms, Shaki-Tamir. said, explaining that the mother couldn’t lie on her back conscious as it was too hard for her to breathe.

She described the operation as “hectic and far from an elective C-section,” adding that it felt more like a night in the military than in a delivery room. “I had the feeling of being in a military operation,” stated Shaki-Tamir. “It was like when I was in the Air Force.”

As reported by The Times of Israel