A mother-to-be who was suffering from coronavirus collapsed to the ground in agony before giving birth to a baby boy who died three days later, the child’s heartbroken father has revealed.
Coolio Carl Justin Morgan was born at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, south Wales, with a low heart rate on May 2.
The little boy, who father Carl Morgan described as their ‘miracle baby’, was rushed to intensive care at Singleton hospital in Swansea but died on May 5.
His primary cause of death was listed as severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, meaning the brain is starved of blood and oxygen. Maternal Covid-19 was listed as a secondary cause.
Mother Kimberly Phillips, 44, had tested positive for the virus after she gave birth.
Coolio was born in the Princess of Wales Hospital (pictured) in Bridgend, South Wales, with a low heart rate
Grieving father Carl said his worried partner told hospital staff ‘something’s not right’ after she went in to be induced and was offered painkillers before collapsing, reports the Sun Online.
‘She took two of the tablets and shortly afterwards collapsed on the floor in agony,’ he said.
‘By now the baby’s head was showing and they had to try and get baby out quickly, but it was too late for him.’
Carl was denied permission to see his son until the day he died as hospital workers feared the little boy also had Covid-19.
‘They told me he’d tested positive for coronavirus too, which meant I wouldn’t be allowed to see him or hold his hand,’ he said.
‘The only time I saw him was on the last day of his life. Singleton waited until Kim was well enough to come with me to say goodbye to him, then they turned his machine off.’
Carl, who has two children from a previous relationship, has been with Kim for five years and felt Coolio was their ‘miracle baby’ as both thought they were too old to have children.
The inquest in Pontypridd heard how Coolio’s mother tested positive for coronavirus ‘soon after the delivery’.
No post-mortem examination was carried out and the coroner asked his officers to investigate the circumstances of the death ahead of the next hearing.
Coroner Graeme Hughes said: ‘I pass on my condolences to the family in these most sad and depressing circumstances.’ A full hearing will be held in April next year.
A funeral for just ten mourners will be held for baby Coolio in Maesteg next week. A local firm of undertakers is making the arrangements with the baby’s heartbroken relatives.
Mayor of Maesteg Councillor Steve Smith said: ‘It’s heartbreaking for the family and our hearts go out to them.
‘It’s terrible to lose any family member during this crisis but a three day-old baby is just awful. But this is a close knit caring community and we will do our best for them.’
Labour Councillor Ceri Reeves added: ‘The loss of a baby is particularly tragic. We look after our own here and the community is there for the family.’
It comes just days after a six-week old baby died of Covid-19, becoming the UK’s youngest victim. NHS England said the infant died on May 3.
Figures earlier this week from an Oxford University study showed five pregnant women have died with Covid-19.
Prof Marian Knight said the fate of the babies carried by the five women is unknown.
The Oxford University study found 427 mothers-to-be were admitted to NHS hospitals with the life-threatening disease between March 1 and April 14.
But their analysis does suggest expectant mothers are at no greater risk of severe Covid-19 than any other women.
The research also looked at the babies of the mothers with COVID-19, finding one in four babies were born early.
Five of the babies in the study died, but three of those were ‘definitely unrelated’ to the coronavirus, the scientists said, while it remained unclear whether the virus contributed to the other two deaths.
There is no evidence to suggest pregnant women are more likely to catch to the coronavirus than the general population.
However, due to changes to the immune system, it’s been speculated pregnant women may be more vulnerable to severe infection.
The Government has, therefore, told all pregnant women to be extra stringent in practicing social distancing.
The study is believed to be the first large-scale study looking at pregnancy and its links with COVID-19.
Oxford researchers conducted it alongside the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Patient data for the study was collected from all 194 hospitals in the UK with a consultant-led maternity unit.
Although the number of people dying in care homes has remained lower than hospital deaths so far, residents are making up a larger proportion of the fatalities being reported each week, from just five per cent of the total at the start of April to 40 per cent at the end of the month