Mother is hospitalised with Covid after not getting vaccine during pregnancy

Cierra Nicole Abbington-Chubb contracted Covid-19 at 37 weeks pregnant

Cierra Abbington-Chubb contracted Covid-19 while 37 weeks pregnant. She is now fighting for her life in the hospital (GoFundMe/Jamal Chubb)

A South Carolina woman has been fighting for her life in the hospital after contracting Covid-19 while pregnant.

Cierra Nicole Abbington-Chubb of Lancaster was hospitalised at 37 weeks pregnant after she contracted the novel virus. Since she was pregnant, Ms Abbington-Chubb held off from getting a Covid-19 vaccine, her husband, Jamal Chubb, told Good Morning America.

Two days after being hospitalised for the virus on 26 July, doctors performed an emergency c-section due to Mrs Abbington-Chubb’s pregnancy being in distress.

The mother-of-three gave birth to her son Myles at a healthy weight of 5lbs 7oz despite coming a few weeks early. The baby also tested negative for Covid-19 after his birth.

But Mrs Abbington-Chubb’s condition has worsened following the birth of her son and she is currently on a ventilator and in a medically-induced coma to help her body recover from contracting the virus.

“As far as Covid-19 goes, guys, I don’t want anybody to experience what we are experiencing. This is truly hell. I want better for everyone out there,” Mr Chubb said in a video update he shared on Facebook.

“This is Cierra’s 16th day in the hospital and she’s really fighting hard now,” he added. “So far her condition is the same. Nothing’s necessarily changed. She’s just fighting really hard and we are believing in a miracle for her.”

The couple has been married for 12 years and have three children together: a seven-year-old daughter, two-year-old son, and newborn son.

“I’ve explained to my kids that Cierra is sleeping and she’s trying to get better. That’s been hard, too,” Mr Chubb said in his recent update video.

He was able to witness the birth of Myles, and he has since taken the child home while the family waits to see how Ms Abbington-Chubb recovers.

“That was the first time Cierra was not in the car with me when we had a newborn sitting in the backseat, making certain he was OK, so I kept putting my hand back in the car seat to make sure he was OK,” Mr Chubb told Good Morning America. “It was the most nerve-wracking drive.”

The family has raised more than $100,000 on GoFundMe to help with the hospital bills as well as Mr Chubb having to take off work temporarily in order to stay home with the couple’s three children.

Mrs Abbington-Chubb is a stay-at-home mom who runs her own hand-lettering business.

Mr Chubb, who is vaccinated, said his wife put off getting the Covid-19 vaccine because she was worried about the impact it would have on their then-unborn son.

“That was her only hesitation in getting vaccinated, was how it was going to affect our son Myles,” he said. “She just wanted to protect him at all costs.”

He supports his wife’s decision but has since encouraged other Americans to receive a vaccine if they haven’t already.

“Although only maybe two per cent of people die from Covid-19, that two per cent is still 100 per cent of someone’s world,” he told USA Today. “So weigh the risks when thinking of getting vaccinated.”

About 16.3 per cent of pregnant women have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine as of 8 May, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials have advised for pregnant women to consult their doctors about the vaccine, as some have expressed concerns about the potential impact the jab could have on their unborn children.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) released a joint statement earlier this month advising all pregnant women to receive a Covid-19 vaccine – citing research that showed that the vaccine was not dangerous for them.