Pregnancy without the COVID vaccine has a much higher risk of hospitalization and deathExBulletin

Scott Baisley has a son, Sullivan, who gave birth shortly before his mother died of COVID-19.

Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

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Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

Scott Baisley has a son, Sullivan, who gave birth shortly before his mother died of COVID-19.

Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

Kimberly Gris needed a pedestrian in the last month of her pregnancy to get off her corridor near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to a freshly painted lavender nursery.

The 36-year-old had a hard time hanging small clothes and organizing the diaper changing table. She was hospitalized with COVID-19 and ventilator this summer.

She didn’t get the vaccine for fear that it could hurt her baby. Doctors now want pregnant women to know that it’s safe.

In September, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged that expecting mothers to develop warning complications vaccinated by COVID could be fatal to both mothers and babies. .. Still, two-thirds of pregnant women are not.

Grice and another South Carolina family share the story of an unvaccinated pregnancy in the hope of changing their minds.

Kimberly was rushed to a crowded emergency room in late July and waited six hours before she was found to have COVID pneumonia. Her husband, Tories, shares the rest of the journey she doesn’t remember, including questions repeatedly asked by doctors in case of complications. Should something go wrong, Kimberly or the baby’s life be saved first?

“What you want to say is something like both, but that’s not the answer,” says the Tories.

Kimberly’s liver appeared to be dysfunctional when the doctor considered an emergency caesarean section after removing her from the ventilator. But then her health improved and they decided not to give birth to a baby nine weeks early.

“You are a miracle”

When Kimberly came, it was almost September and she was confused. How did she get to Charleston’s hospital and who were the doctors and nurses currently in her room?

“They’re like I need to see you. They’re like you were sick. You’re a miracle,” Kimberly says.

Her body was worn out. However, on October 22, Kimberly gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Leila Nigris, who weighed 7 pounds. 2 ounces.

Kimberly and Tory Gris’ daughter Leilani were born healthy after her mother was hospitalized with COVID.

Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

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Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

Kimberly and Tory Gris’ daughter Leilani were born healthy after her mother was hospitalized with COVID.

Victoria Hansen / South Carolina Public Radio

“The risk of endangering your life, the risk of endangering your fetal life, is not worth it,” says Dr. Rebecca Winelands. She is the Director of Delivery and Delivery at the South Carolina Medical College in Charleston.

According to Wineland, mothers infected with the rapidly spreading delta variant are at increased risk of stillbirth, growth-restricted babies and preeclampsia, and are the leading cause of maternal and infant mortality worldwide. increase.

She also directly sees what the CDC warns and expects mothers with COVIDs to double their chances of being hospitalized in the ICU and increase their risk of losing their lives by 70%.

“If you get infected with COVID, it will definitely save your life and reduce the risk of hospitalization,” says Winelands.

But the message was too late for Scott Baisley, who lives just outside Charleston, and his two-month-old son Sullivan.

Scott hugs the crying baby and tries to comfort him. The empty bottle is next to the framed ultrasound image and the wedding photo displayed on the table next to it.

Scott’s wife, Claire, was 33 years old when she fell to her floor in August within days of being diagnosed with COVID. She was immediately hospitalized for double pneumonia.

A week later, the doctor decided that Sullivan needed to be delivered by Caesarean section. Claire was ventilated and given a 10% survival rate. Less than a month after her diagnosis, doctors were desperately trying to save her.

“But that’s it. I saw her number decrease. I saw her blood oxygen continue to fall. I saw her heart rate increase. “Scott says.

Suddenly Claire disappeared. COVID was killing her. She couldn’t hold Sullivan.

“Having a motherless son is one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced.”

It’s a pain that Scott doesn’t want someone else to endure.