Worcester mom meets baby one month after giving birth while positive for coronavirus

WORCESTER, Mass. — A Worcester mother who contracted coronavirus while pregnant finally met her baby 28 days after he was born.

Last month, Sarah Chama, 26 weeks pregnant, went to UMass Memorial Medical Center experiencing dizziness and tested positive for COVID-19. As her condition deteriorated, she needed to be intubated and received a tracheostomy to breathe.

At 27.5 weeks, Chama, sedated, gave birth to her baby boy by Cesarean section.

Baby Alex, named after his father, was 2 lb 8 oz. He has needed help eating and breathing but is progressing and gaining weight.

His mother, too, has since improved, and, on Wednesday, she was finally healthy enough to hold him for the first time.

"It felt like forever, not knowing how your child is and all that," Chama said Wednesday in a FaceTime interview with Boston 25 News from her hospital room. "It was a painful experience to go through. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Hospital staff took a video of Chama meeting her son, waving to him and holding him in her arms.

"My heart was skipping when I held him," Chama said. "I can't explain the feeling. I don't even know what to say. It's overwhelming."

Chama expects to go home sometime next week. Her son won't be able to meet his older brother and sister for a few weeks. But Chama knows her baby is in good hands.

“That was a very painful experience,” Chama said. “But I thank god I was able to see my son today.”

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RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

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