May 17, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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Jamaica Hospital celebrates discharge
of COVID-19 mother and miracle baby
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
It was a joyous occasion at Jamaica
Hospital Medical Center
on Monday as doctors, nurses and
other frontline staff celebrated the
discharge of a mother who battled
complications of the coronavirus
and delivered a healthy premature
baby girl to save her life.
On March 24, Tasnim Shaheen
was 24 weeks pregnant with
her third child when she was
taken to the hospital with flu-like
symptoms.
Shaheen was admitted to the
hospital’s labor unit for coronavirus,
but within two days, her symptoms
intensified and she was transferred
to the intensive care unit
and placed on a ventilator.
The ICU team closely monitored
Shaheen’s condition over the next
few weeks, but became increasingly
concerned as she developed acute
kidney injuries as well as pneumonia.
The doctors determined that
it was in the best interest of the patient
and her unborn child if they
performed a C-section.
“At this point, Mrs. Shaheen
was 28 weeks pregnant and we felt
as if the baby had a good chance of
survival if we delivered,” said Dr.
Kavitha Ram, director of obstetrics
at Jamaica Hospital. “In addition,
we felt that removing the fetus
would give Mrs. Shaneen a better
opportunity to resolve her kidney
issues as well as her pneumonia.”
After consulting with the patient’s
husband, the decision was
made to perform the surgery on
April 22.
Shaheen was taken directly
from the intensive care unit to the
operating room where Ram and her
team delivered a 940 gram (approximately
2 lb.) baby girl, the couple’s
first daughter.
“The baby came out kicking and
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center staffers celebrate the discharge of Tasnim Shaheen (c.) who battled complications of COVID-19 and delivered a healthy baby
girl. Courtesy of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
screaming and was very healthy,”
Ram said.
The baby was immediately taken
to the neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU) and Shaheen returned
to intensive care.
Soon after the delivery, Shaheen
began showing signs of improvement.
Within two days, her kidneys
began to recover, and within
three days, she was taken off of the
ventilator. After five days, she was
moved out of intensive care and
back to the labor unit.
One of the factors that Ram attributes
to Shaheen’s recovery was
the hospital’s ability to connect her
to her family despite not being able
to see them due to visitation restrictions.
“Throughout the entire admission,
our palliative care team did
an excellent job of communicating
with the patient’s family through
video conferencing. Mr. Shaheen
had daily contact with his wife
even when she was on a ventilator,
which allowed him to be involved
in her care.” Ram said. “When Mrs.
Shaheen was eventually taken
off the ventilator, she was able to
not only see and speak with her
husband and sons, but also her extended
family in Bangladesh. We
feel this greatly contributed to her
recovery.”
Perhaps the greatest moment,
however, was when Jamaica Hospital
was able to connect Shaheen
from her hospital bed to her baby
girl, Reeda Birt Shaheen, in the
NICU.
“We were overjoyed to be able to
provide her with the opportunity to
see her daughter for the first time,”
said Dr. Medha Chunduru, palliative
care physician.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
Vol. 98 No. 20 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
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