Kottayam: The first time Merin Mathew saw her newborn was the only time she saw her baby. Five days after giving birth to the boy, the 36-year-old woman died of COVID-19. Merin was eight months pregnant and short of breath when she visited the Medical College Hospital here on April 20. An antigen test confirmed her to be COVID-19 positive.
Later that night around 9, she gave birth to the baby boy. He had tested negative, and Merin’s relatives showed her the baby once before taking him away.
Another test conducted after the breathlessness aggravated, confirmed pneumonia. Merin, wife of Prasad P Abraham of Plapparambil at Mudiyoorkkara, Gandhi Nagar, breathed her last around 10pm on Sunday.
Her funeral was held adhering to COVID-19 protocol at the Holy Cross Church at Mudiyoorkkara.
Thomas P Prasad is Merin’s elder son. She was an accountant of the Community Development Society of Kadampuzha panchayat.
