A Filipino resident in the United Arab Emirates who tested positive for COVID-19 twice – once during pregnancy and once during labor – has given birth to healthy twin girls.
After reporting symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath, Mariecen Nituma Agillon, 26, tested positive for COVID-19 at 31 weeks pregnant.
On June 4, 2021, her health deteriorated, and she was admitted to the isolation unit at NMC Specialty Hospital in Al Nahda, Dubai.
Kenneth Zamora, who worked as an office assistant before losing his job due to the pandemic, tested positive around the same time and was admitted to a Dubai quarantine center.
Blood tests on the mom-to-be revealed she has high levels of infection and inflammation, while a chest x-ray revealed she had developed pneumonia.
“Pregnancy can lead to complications in COVID-19, and in this case, also because this was a pre-term twin pregnancy,” said Dr Rakesh Sankar, a specialist physician at the hospital.
“Also with COVID-19-related pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, other therapy complications included severe anemia requiring blood transfusion, bacterial pneumonia with sepsis, and a high heart rate suggestive of thyroid condition.”After spending two days in the ICU, and a total of nine days in the hospital, Agillon, a sales executive with a local retail chain, was finally discharged on June 1 after obtaining a negative PCR test. However, she was readmitted the very next day for premature labor, testing positive yet again.
Twin pregnancy is considered high risk in general, according to Dr Praveena Saraf, a specialist obstetrician and gynecologist at the hospital, and can result in preterm delivery.
“While Mariecen was weighing just around 50kgs, the COVID-19infection increased her risk of a preterm delivery.”
Agillon had an emergency C-section, delivering two live healthy preterm 32 weeks baby girls, weighing 1.4 and 1.6kg. Both the babies tested negative for COVID-19.
Her spouse remained in the quarantine center, leaving her alone in the hospital. The premature babies were looked for in the NICU for two weeks before being discharged.
The new mother expressed her happiness at the safe delivery of her twins, saying: “Me and my husband could only pray but it seems God answered our prayers through these doctors.”
The safe delivery of twin babies, according to Michael Brenden Davis, CEO of NMC Healthcare, proves that life can go on despite the pandemic with proper medical care.
‘What is most encouraging is the fact that her twins remained COVID negative. I am grateful to our doctors and nurses who deliver such miracles time and again.”
Although the mother’s COVID-19 positive status, Dr Karvendhan Ramasamy, a specialist neonatologist at the hospital, said that her breast milk was expressed and given to the babies from day one.
“Though the mother was COVID 19 positive, we could still use her breast milk as breast milk of COVID 19 mothers is safe for their babies,” he said. “As such, the babies remained COVID-19 negative; although, they were premature hence needed constant and special nursery care for two weeks.”
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