Pregnant mom recovers from coronavirus after induced coma, gives birth to healthy twins

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A mother in Ireland who was diagnosed with coronavirus just nine weeks into her pregnancy and then placed in a two-week induced coma as she battled the illness gave birth to healthy twin girls last week.

Danielle Martin and her family are calling the safe arrival of the twins “a miracle” after doctors reportedly said it would be “highly unlikely” that the babies would survive her battle with coronavirus, SWNS reported.

Danielle Martin was just nine weeks pregnant when she told her partner she felt like she was suffocating.  (SWNS)

“It’s definitely a miracle for us,” Bryan Green, who shares three older boys with Martin, told the news outlet. “They’re our wee princesses.”

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It started on March 30 when Martin told Green she felt like she was suffocating. At the time, she was nine weeks pregnant and thought she was expecting one baby. The 32-year-old was rushed to the hospital near their home in Belfast. She tested positive for COVID-19 and her condition soon deteriorated, SWNS reported.

“At first, I thought I just had a sore throat which led to a bad chest and I thought it must be a chest infection but I could barely breathe after six days,” she told SWNS. “It felt like I was suffocating so Bryan decided to call an ambulance who came within five minutes and took me away – I was terrified.”

Bryan Green said he was shocked when he called the hospital to find out that she had been placed in an induced coma. (SWNS)

She was placed on a ventilator to help with her breathing, but when her oxygen levels dropped they put her into an induced coma, SWNS reported.

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“I rang the hospital to say I needed to get in touch with my partner and a consultant came on the phone to tell me they’d rushed her up to the theater and put her in a coma,” Green told the news outlet. “I was just speechless on the phone, I didn’t know what to say it was madness.”

Doctors allegedly then informed Green it would be “highly unlikely” for the baby to survive the ordeal.

Ava and Amelia survived their mother's battle with COVID-19 and were born healthy last week.  (SWNS)

Research on coronavirus in pregnant women is ongoing. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that based on what is already known, pregnant people may be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people. Additionally, COVID-19 may have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as pre-term birth.

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Researchers say the outcomes thus far have been impacted by timing of infection during pregnancy, severity of the disease, and whether the newborn was also diagnosed with COVID-19. Two reports recently published on the virus’ impact on pregnant women showed that more than half of pregnant women infected with the virus were asymptomatic or showed no symptoms, while 16% of the women included in one of the studies showed symptoms and 9% required invasive mechanical ventilation.

Additionally, pregnancy obesity and gestational diabetes were also found in higher prevalence among pregnant women who were hospitalized for COVID-19 illness.

After 10 days, Martin came out of the coma, and the pair were informed that not only did her baby survive, but that she was expecting two, SWNS reported.  

“I couldn’t believe it and I still can’t to this day, even though I’m looking at them in front of me right now sleeping, it’s unbelievable!” Green told the news outlet.

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The girls, named Ava and Amelia, are now home where they joined brothers Jaiden, Parker and Joshua.  

Fox News' Kayla Rivas contributed to this report.