North Carolina woman in coma from COVID-19 gives birth to 'miracle baby'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A pregnant school cafeteria worker in Charlotte caught COVID-19 and gave birth to her baby while in a medically-induced coma.

Vicki Goodson remains in the hospital and her family hopes her story will encourage other mothers to get vaccinated.

"The baby is a miracle baby," Goodson's sister Tarisha Leach said to ABC affiliate WSOC. "A miracle baby. She's beautiful."

Goodson's family said she was cautious throughout the pandemic, but she was waiting until after her pregnancy to get vaccinated. Then on Sept. 3, she started struggling to breathe and had to be admitted to the hospital.

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A few days later, doctors performed an emergency C-section while Goodson was unconscious. Her baby spent two weeks in the NICU and is now home with relatives--but she does not know her mother and her mother has never held her precious miracle.

This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an urgent warning after new data showed more than 125,000 pregnant people tested positive for COVID-19, with 22,000 of those cases resulting in hospitalization and 161 of them ending in death.

In August alone, 22 pregnant women died from COVID-19, according to the CDC. Plus, in surviving mothers, COVID-19 has also been linked to preterm birth, stillbirth and the newborn arriving with COVID-19 and having to be admitted to the ICU.

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The COVID-19 vaccine has been proven safe and effective for pregnant mothers.