At one of the New York hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus, not even the obstetrics unit — typically a place of celebration — was spared. At one point, 3 expectant mothers were critically ill at the same time.
Still, there have been moments of hope.
nyti.ms/2JXFDRt
Still, there have been moments of hope.
nyti.ms/2JXFDRt
.@sherifink and @victorjblue reported from the Brooklyn Hospital Center, where nearly 90 people and 5 staff members have died. But the doctors remain grateful: nearly 200 babies have arrived since March and so far, not one mother or baby has been lost.
Dr. Erroll Byer Jr. is the chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department. One expectant mother, Precious Anderson, had been his patient for years. He counseled her on getting pregnant after a miscarriage and delivered her sister’s children. Precious was due in June. 
Precious, a substitute teacher, called Dr. Byer on March 26, feeling sick but scared to come to the hospital. A day later, she had to be admitted with coughing and labored breathing — a "classic" Covid-19 case, he said.
24 hours after that, she was in the ICU on a ventilator.
24 hours after that, she was in the ICU on a ventilator.
Precious's lungs were ravaged by the virus. Her life was at risk. And her worried doctors were torn: Delivering the baby could reduce the strain on her body. But more than 2 months before the due date, the baby might face serious complications.
In the end, the doctors all agreed: Neither mother nor child was getting enough oxygen. Their best chance to save both was to deliver — right away.
Precious had an emergency C-section the same day. Her baby, David III, was named after his father. He weighed a little over 3 and a half pounds.
Precious remained unconscious and on a ventilator for a week after the birth. "Do you think she's going to make it?" her mother came to Dr. Byer’s office to ask. "Please be real with me."
She did.
She did.
After Precious woke up and her condition improved, Dr. Byer and a resident physician rolled a tablet computer into her room.
Smiling, crying, she watched her baby over a video stream. "Hey," she called to him. He opened his eyes. "There you go. Hi."
nyti.ms/2JXFDRt
Smiling, crying, she watched her baby over a video stream. "Hey," she called to him. He opened his eyes. "There you go. Hi."
nyti.ms/2JXFDRt
Basharrie McKenzie is another expectant mother who spent time in the Brooklyn Hospital Center ICU with Covid-19.
"You’re going to come back and deliver a healthy, beautiful baby," a nurse told her when she was allowed to leave the hospital. "You made it!"
"You’re going to come back and deliver a healthy, beautiful baby," a nurse told her when she was allowed to leave the hospital. "You made it!"
Read more of @sherifink's reporting — on the battles doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other medical staff are winning and those they’ve lost — from inside the Brooklyn Hospital Center:
