Coronavirus-infected woman gives birth to healthy baby

A novel coronavirus-infected woman in Chongqing delivered a healthy baby.

The 25-year-old woman, who has tested positive for the contagion, gave birth to an infant female in Southwest China's Chongqing on Tuesday night.

The woman, the first infected pregnant person in the municipality, was at her 35th week of gestation when she delivered her 2.65kilogram baby via cesarean section at Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital affiliated with Chongqing University.

The baby girl, named An'an meaning safety in Chinese, has tested negative for the novel coronavirus two consecutive times. She is going to take the third and final test soon to confirm her condition, the hospital said on Friday.

The woman and baby have been transferred to a critical emergency ward and a neonatal care unit, respectively, for follow-up care and treatment. The infant is under around the clock care at the hospital.

Mother and daughter are currently in stable condition.

The baby's father is also infected with the virusthough he is only showing mild symptoms and is now receiving treatment at the same hospital.

Considering the contagion's impact on the woman, a group of medical experts from different hospital departments, including gynaecology and obstetrics, neonatology, anesthesia and infectious diseases, conducted a consultation on her condition and made specific plans for her and her baby's treatment and care.

According to Xiang Shaojian, the chief surgeon performing the woman's cesarean section, the operating room was specially renovated for patients with the novel coronavirus pneumonia. "We did a lot of preparations to minimize the risk of cross-infection."

"The time spent on the cesarean surgery was a little bit longer than expected because all the doctors and nurses were slower than normal due to their wearing protective suits, goggles and multi-layers of gloves," Xiang was quoted as saying by cqnews.net.