Cameroon — A 19-year old woman from Cameroon who had been infected with coronavirus safely gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The mother, who is unnamed, has since been separated from her newborn baby to hopefully prevent her from contracting the disease.The patient was undergoing treatment for coronavirus in an isolation ward in the country’s capital, Yaounde, when she started having contractions and went into premature labor last Saturday, the doctors who helped her deliver the baby told CNN.
“It was quite fast. The baby came out and we separated her from the mother, who did not touch the child,” said Dr. Yaneu Ngaha, who led the team that assisted with the birth, citing that the delivery lasted only for an hour and had no complications.
“We wore protective jackets and the mother also wore a mask,” Ngaha added.
The mother and the baby are in good condition. The baby was tested for coronavirus 14 hours after her delivery but it has yet been clear if she was also infected as test results are still pending.
The baby is being fed with breastmilk from her mother, who is quarantined to continue with the treatment.
“The baby has been transferred to the neonatal unit and kept in an incubator because she is premature, weighing about 2,000 grams. We check her temperature three times per day,” Ngaha said.
Meanwhile, the Central African country has reportedly confirmed 685 coronavirus cases and 9 deaths so far. The increasing number of cases was allegedly caused by people who evaded quarantine despite having travel history abroad.