The tiny premature baby who fought off coronavirus

Scottish baby fights off coronavirus after being born premature

The new mother says it is one of the “worst things” she has seen.

“It was the first time I’d seen my baby cry tears,” she said. “I held her, I was crying and we were just trying to get each other through the situation”.

Born prematurely at just 3lbs 5oz (1.5kg), baby Peyton was diagnosed with Covid-19 at just three weeks old.

Her arrival on 26 March – eight weeks before her due date – defied all of the family’s planning.

Despite feeling healthy, Tracy was told she may have pre-eclampsia during a routine appointment and was sent straight to Wishaw General Hospital in Lanarkshire.

The poorly tot was cared for in an incubator in the hospital’s neonatal unit when Tracy and husband AJ, 28, were given the devastating news that their baby, who weighed just 1.6kg, had tested positive for the potentially deadly coronavirus – after medics noticed she had a sniffle.

After pleading with hospital staff, Tracy was able to stay with Peyton at the hospital while she recovered.

However, following two negative Covid-19 tests, Peyton was discharged yesterday (20 April) and is now at home in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire with Tracy, a digital marketing student, and AJ, a personal trainer and boxing coach.

Tracy said: “When I heard Peyton had coronavirus I was sobbing and really worried about how it could affect her respiratory system, her lungs and if it was life threatening.

Peyton was given steroids to help strengthen her lungs and received “amazing” care from neonatal nurses in the days that followed her diagnosis.

However, after recovering from her Caesarean section, Tracy was told she would have to go home and isolate for 14 days away from her baby.

She said: “I was pleading on the phone with the doctor saying I don’t want to be away from her.

“As much as everyone was looking after her, I’m her mum. Even if it was the cold, I’d want to be there with her.”

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Doctors relented and allowed Tracy to stay – but Adrian would have to go home and complete the isolation period in order to see his baby girl.

As days passed, the number of deaths in Scotland caused by the virus continued to increase – but Peyton recovered.

“Peyton is the most precious person in the world to me and it shows the trust I had in the midwives and the other staff that I put her care in their hands – because that is that they are trained to do.

“My message to any mums-to-be is that they shouldn’t be worried about going into hospital to give birth because the staff know exactly what they need to do to protect everyone from the virus.

“And if people have symptoms of a serious health problem, like I did, they shouldn’t be scared to go to hospital and get checked out because just leaving it could make their condition worse.

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