By Canadian Press

B.C. mom who gave birth in a coma due to COVID-19 awake, able to meet son

Dec 16, 2020 | 6:03 PM

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — A mother who gave birth while in a coma due to complications from COVID-19 is awake and has met her newborn son for the first time.

Gillian McIntosh was given an emergency C-section after arriving at a hospital in Abbotsford, B.C., with COVID-19 symptoms in November. 

The 37-year-old was placed in an induced coma and on a ventilator due to complications from the virus.

McIntosh’s family says in a statement that she was eased out of sedation late last week and has been taken off the ventilator.

She was able to meet her son, named Travis Len, for the first time over the weekend.

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Her family says the new mother remains in the intensive care unit, requiring critical care monitoring, but her condition is stable.

The statement thanks health-care workers for their treatment of both McIntosh and her son.

McIntosh’s health concerns started when she reported feeling sick in the first week of November. When her symptoms worsened, she went to the hospital, leaving her husband, Dave McIntosh, to look after their daughter.

The last communication Dave McIntosh had with his wife came in a text saying she was being taken in for an emergency C-section because of complications from the novel coronavirus, he said in an earlier interview.

“Our entire family continues to be humbled by the generosity of the community at large. We are grateful for each and every kind thought, prayer, message and donation,” the couple said in a statement on Wednesday.

— By Nick Wells in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020.

The Canadian Press