A mother who was placed in a coma after having an emergency Caesarean at seven months pregnant because she was critically ill with Covid-19 has finally been able to hold her daughter for the first time.
Elsa Larkins, 34, was rushed to Kingston Hospital, in south west London, shortly after Christmas because she was severely ill and struggling to breathe.
Her condition deteriorated and doctors made the difficult decision to deliver her daughter, Florence, on January 5, some two months before her due date.
The newborn weighed just 3lbs 5oz and was immediately put on a ventilator, while Elsa was placed in a medically induced coma.
Elsa Larkins, 34, gave birth two months early by emergency Caesarean section last month at Kingston Hospital in south west London and was put on a ventilator shortly afterwards as she was critically ill with Covid-19. She was finally able to hold daughter Florence last week
Husband Tommy (pictured) feared he would lose both his wife and their unborn daughter
When she woke two weeks later, her first thought was of her newborn daughter.
‘Yeah, that was very, very hard,’ she said in an interview with Sky News. ‘They kept saying “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow” because I kept asking them every single day. The answer was always tomorrow because I wasn’t getting better.’
Last week, Elsa was finally able to hold Florence for the first time and the family are now home together.
When Elsa arrived in hospital, she was so sick she feared she might die. Florence had been pushing up on Elsa’s lungs, making it difficult for her to breathe properly.
‘I remember telling the nurses I’m dying and that upset her,’ Elsa recalled. ‘Bless her, she went home crying that night.’
Florence weighed just 3lbs 5oz and was immediately put on a ventilator, while Elsa was placed in a medically induced coma. Pictured, mother and daughter together
Elsa is now recovering at home, saying: ‘It was incredible, seeing how little and fragile she is. There are no words. We didn’t plan it like this’. Pictured, mother and daughter in hospital
Medics made the rare and difficult decision to transfer Elsa to the ITU (intensive therapy unit) where she was placed on a ventilator.
Tommy was told to say goodbye to his wife, and prepare for the possibility that he might lose her, their unborn baby, or both of them.
He said: ‘Told potentially to say your last goodbyes to your other half and to your baby as well, your world comes crashing down.’
After Elsa gave birth, she returned to the ITU and placed on a ventilator. Weeks later, after she had come out of a coma and her condition had improved, she was moved too a maternity ward but still faced a wait to meet her daughter.
The mother revealed that Florence has her ups and downs, and has received a blood transfusion
But the thought of seeing and holding her baby gave her strength to get better and several days later, the emotional reunion happened as Elsa could see her daughter for the first time.
Elsa is now recovering at home. She said: ‘It was incredible, seeing how little and fragile she is. There are no words. We didn’t plan it like this.’
The mother revealed that Florence has her ups and downs, and has received a blood transfusion.
Senior consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Kingston Hospital Meena Shankar said it was extremely rare for a pregnant woman to go to ITU, even during the pandemic.
She added that making a decision to deliver a baby early is ‘a huge thing’ because, by delivering a baby early, they are putting it at risk but Elsa was ‘quite unwell’.
Tommy was told to say goodbye to Florence and was told to prepare to lose Elsa, his unborn daughter or both of them when Elsa had the Caesarean section on January 5